


Working between the light and the dark

by Birooksun



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Kidnapping, Attempted Murder, F/F, F/M, Friendship/Love, Kidnapping, Major Original Character(s), Metahumans, Miscarriage, Multi, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Polyamory, Recovery, the past always catches up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2018-11-30 06:40:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 24
Words: 110,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11458119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birooksun/pseuds/Birooksun
Summary: Audrina Hernandez takes up a job at Wayne Industries to escape her old life. She makes friends with the first two people she meets, Harley Quinn and The Riddler. While she's puzzled by the two odd people, one of them tries to solve the puzzle that she is. She just wants to live a normal life and heal from her past, but things do always have a way of catching up.





	1. The New Girl in Town

**Author's Note:**

> This is very AU, I am sorry I'm kind of cherry picking at the different bits of media. There's so much lore I can't stick to just one 'verse.

Riddler sighed and ran a gloved hand through his red hair, thinking to himself he did need to cut it again. He was tired, it felt like he would never prove himself smarter than Batman. He knew he was, but that damn Bat kept cheating! How can you prove yourself against a cheater? He looked around his desk, different plans written out, diagrams sketched out, even riddles already written down to put in place. He stood up, cracking his lower back and decided he needed some fresh air, he'll take a walk and maybe get a drink down at the Iceberg Lounge.

* * *

  
For a first day in the city, it was not turning out as hoped. Her itinerary had been wrong and she ended up in a completely different part of Gotham. Happy that she only had a single suitcase to wheel around, she tried to find her hotel. Audrina looked from her map to the buildings around her, everything seemed so dark and gloomy; but that must just be an effect from the growing storm clouds. She took a second look at her map, tucked a lock of purple hair behind her ear, sighed and just picked a direction to start walking. She couldn't get more lost, right?  
After a few minutes of feeling helpless and frustrated she saw a hotel with signage reading, "The Iceburg Lounge". With a small smile at somewhere to go inside and escape the approaching storm she headed in to get a drink and some directions. After all, if it was a lounge there would be a bartender and they usually had good knowledge of the city.

* * *

  
"Aww, what's the long face for Riddler? Did the bat mess up another plan of yours?" Harley slung herself onto a bar stool next to the glooming man. He gave a tense nod as his green eyes flicked between the bouncy blonde and his drink.

"Foiled again, this game of cat and mouse grows tiring. Why are you here?" He took a small sip of his drink while awaiting an answer.

"Mista J got caught again and the place feels lonely without him. Red's still locked up and Selena's taking care of a sick cat, so I thought I'd see whose here. You look like you need a smile, so ta-da!" She gave a smile and threw back her hands as her pigtails bounced.

He threw back the drink and turned to signal the bartender for a second. Realizing the bartender was no longer in front of him he raised his head to look around. At the end of bar there he was, leaning over a counter and helping a young woman with a map. He stared at her for a moment, "Harley, when is a prizefight like a beautiful lady?"

She paused for a moment and tilted her head, "When it's a knockout!" She gave a giggle, "Has she caught your eye Mistah E?"

"Harley do not call me that. I don't know who she is but, she is quite easy on the eyes." Harley looked around him to see the woman with colored hair.

"Ooh! Someone new in town? Maybe she's a new baddie! I love her hair! We should say hi! Come on." Harley didn't even give him a chance to respond before she pulled him off his seat and over towards the young woman. The young woman held a dark beer in one hand and was pointing to a spot with the other.

"So here is my hotel and I'm apparently all the way-" her brown finger drew a line halfway across the map, "over here instead?" The bartender gave a nod. "Well shoot, that seems much too far to walk, are there cabs nearby?" He shook his head and was going to reply before Harely cut him off.

"Sorry sugar, cabs don't come over to this neighborhood that often. Not unless you got a lotta cash to flash." She pulled Edward behind her and gave a bright smile to the woman. Edward looked her over as she explained to Harley how the bus dropped her off at the wrong station. The young woman had dark skin and short purple hair. He thought it odd how even her eyebrows were purple. When she turned to look at him he saw she had dark brown almond shaped eyes behind her glasses, it was like looking at two sard stones in place of eyes. He started to focus on the conversation when Harley turned towards him. "So Eddy and I can walk you over to where the cabs will pick you up!"

"Excuse me?" He gave a dark glare at Harley. She just smiled back at him.

"Well we can't let a nice looking girl wander around lost her first night in the big city!" She walked around behind the blushing woman and gave Edward her strongest puppy dog eyes.

"Well I suppose." He gave another look at the woman noticing more details, the slight rumples to her button down shirt that comes from being in a seat for a long time, the water stains on the bottom of her pants from being splashed, bags under her eyes not well hidden by makeup. She looked as if she'd gone through a lot in a short amount of time. He frowned, wondering what happened to her. "So riddle me this miss, what can hold water even though it has holes?"

She looked at him, probably wondering if he was serious before tapping her mouth with a finger. "Would it be a sponge?" He couldn't help but notice she had a touch of a souther accent behind her words, but she solved his riddle without question. That already placed her above so many people in Gotham.

He gave a dramatic bow, "Correct! I am The Riddler, this friendly woman here is Harley Quinn, and may I have your name?" As he came up from the bow he gave her a charming smile.

She gave a small giggle at his introduction, "Audrina, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Riddler. I'm afraid to have found myself a bit lost. I do appreciate the help though."

Harley jumped from her seat. "Well let's go! I'm sure after a long day you want to rest!" Audrina smiled, nodded, and paid for her drink. She stood up and finished the remaining half in a quick swig. Harley gave a giggle as she grabbed her black and red crop jacket from one of the hooks. She picked up The Riddlers bowler hat and tossed it to him as he twirled his cane. "Come on! Going for a walk will be nice." He just gave a sigh and wondered why she was so eager to leave. When looking at the two of them he quickly realized why the young woman was blushing at Harley's compliment, whereas Harley was a tall and thin hourglass, the woman before him was quite a bit shorter and a much wider hourglass, but that was difficult to tell with the way her shirt hung.

As he picked up his coat and put on his bowler hat the two girls started to leave through the door, Harley carrying Audrina's suitcase. He heard it happen before he even realized what he saw. The Joker entered, shouted "Harley! Whose your new friend?" tried to grab Audrina and shouted in pain just as the small woman screamed in fear. As the clown fell to the ground Edward saw Audrina was holding a taser out in front of her body. It was still on. He made it to her in a few long steps and calmly pulled her fingers off the trigger, then looked for and clicked the button to rewind the prongs.

"I must be hallucinating" She mumbled to herself, unable to take her eyes off the Jokers face. Her face had gone ashen and he wasn't even sure she was breathing.

"I think we should be going now." He looked at the two women, eyes narrowing as he took in the quiet panic in Harley's eyes. He glanced down at the still incapacitated Joker and took the girls by the elbows, "Now ladies." The physical contact took them out of their shock and they all started walking.

As they made it around the corner Audrina was the first to speak, "That man he-he tried to grab me. He... I think he was going to hurt me." She gave a sniffle and looked at the two on either side of her.

"Wh-who was that man?" She curled her arms around her and whispered to herself, "His voice, the height. I thought for a moment he'd found me."

"Mista J"

"The Joker." Harley and Edward replied at the same time. Harley looked at the ground sadly. Edward decided to leave that mystery until after they had escorted the lost young woman to a better area of Gotham. He looked back at Audrina, "The Joker is not a good man, he doesn't follow the rules. I will admit I am surprised that you tased him. Is it a habit of yours to tase strange men?" He got a small smile from the woman before she jumped and reached for her taser again. He shouted and pushed her hand away before she could shoot it at the dark figure that landed in front of the three of them.  
"Hi ya Bats!" Harley was not fazed in the slightest. Edward and Audrina were both trying to catch their breaths. Audrina terrified at someone seemingly appearing out of nowhere, Edward from fear of what would have happened if she had gotten the Batman.

"Miss, have these two hurt you?" Batman's deep voice did little to help the scared woman. She just silently shook her head. Harley gave her a smile and motioned that the taser should go back in her pocket. She slowly put it away while stepping closer to Edward. It warmed him to have someone turning to him for comfort. Him, instead of Batman. It felt like a small victory.

"Th-they're-" She tried pointing to the lounge but Harley spoke for her.

"Geeze Bats! We're trying to be nice and escort this lady to an area she can get a cab." Harley put her hands on her hips as she stood in front of Batman. "And here you are scaring the poor girl! They don't have people like you in her town! First Mista J tries to grab her and not even a block away you scare her again! That's not a nice welcoming to Gotham." She stomped her foot at this last line.   
Batman looked at the three of them and softly spoke to Audrina, "Is this true miss, they haven't hurt or coerced you?" She quickly shook her head and finally got her voice back, the southern accent stronger this time.

"They haven't Mr. Bat, I'm new in town and have found myself quite lost. These two lovely, yet interestingly dressed people offered to walk me to a part of the city that cabs would pick me up at." She wrung her hands as she looked at the intimidating person in front of her. "Um.. Are you one of those costumed villains or heroes the national news goes on about? Because honestly I thought it was some hoax or PR stunt." She gave a little giggle to herself, "I mean, people with powers I know about, but running around in a costume all the time? Maybe it's just a city thing."

Edward stifled a chuckle at the surprised look on Batman's face, "If you don't mind Batman, it is getting late and this lovely young woman should be heading to her hotel."

She nodded very quickly. "Wayne Enterprises set me up in the Gotham Grand Hotel but by some mix up my bus dropped me off quite far from there. I would like to arrive there soon so they don't wonder what happened to me." Batman nodded and using some sort of grappling hook attached to a gun, vanished into the night. "Well that was quite frightful. What sort of a man drops in on unsuspecting people like that? It's quite rude."

"That's Gotham for you. Costumed people and rudeness." Harley giggled.

Edward offered an arm out to Audrina, "Would you feel better having someone to hold onto? Batman will leave us alone for now and most of the unsavory people have enough brain cells to know not to attack either of us." Audrina gave a shaky smile and clung onto Edwards arm.

"Thank you for understand my worries Mr. Riddler." Harley just smiled at the two of them and skipped while walking. They got Audrina to a better section of the city and hid in the shadows waiting for her to get a cab, when she did they turned to go their separate ways but Edward placed a hand on Harley's elbow before she walked away.

"Harley, I don't know what exactly is going on between you and Joker right now. I don't want to make any assumptions but you seemed scared to see him, I understand the need for safety." He paused and cleared his throat trying to get his words to work. "I don't mean to proposition you, but if you would like to spend the night or a few days at my place I would be honored." She turned and gave him a tight hug. He hid back a blush by hugging her back and hiding his face in her hair. "Of course Query and Echo are in town right now, which means their room is in use. You can of course take mine."  
"Oh Eddy you're such a sweetheart! I'll stay tonight, but if it's any longer than that my puddin will get real mad." She looked down at her feet and rubbed her toe on the ground, " 'Course he's already mad at me since he got caught and I didn't. He didn't know the only reason I wasn't in Arkham with him was because he left me when that fire started, it blocked off the way he went and I had to find a different escape." He gave a sigh and wrapped one arm around her shoulders as they walked into the night.

"Harley, you deserve so much more than that clown. One day you'll see that and all of us will be ready to help you." 

* * *

  
Audrina shot up in bed, gasping for air and silent tears flowing down her face. It's all too loud and she hears someone shouting in the street. She can feel the blanket clutched in her hands but suddenly she's on the kitchen floor, David standing above her shouting, the warm slick feeling of her blood beneath her. She's trying to get up but her arm hurts every time she puts weight on it and her hands keep slipping in the slick blood. She looks back up in fear and he's stomping on her, screaming that she's useless and only good for being a whore. Her eyes close both in reality and in her memory in hopes he'll just walk away but she can feel him dragging her up by her hair and slapping her on the ground again.

A car alarm goes off and suddenly she's back in her bedroom. She's gasping and trips getting out of bed, rushing to the bathroom and throws up, shaking and just sobbing. After a moment she stands back up on shaky legs, flushes it away and starts to brush her teeth. Looking in the mirror she notices that she's covered in sweat. Mouth cleaned she looks away and climbs into the shower. When she's clean and in a new nightgown she looks at her alarm clock by the bed. It's only 2 am.

She gives a groan and lies down in bed, praying for sleep.

* * *

  
The Riddler knew he was a man capable of solving many puzzles, riddles were merely child's play to him, and yet his mind would not let go of the young woman he'd met the other day. He just wasn't sure of how naive someone would have to be to be so jumpy and move to Gotham, blindly walk into a place for villains but keep a taser on her and be fast enough with it to take down a man before he touched her.

The very subject was sitting at the bar when he walked in, purple hair now styled so it was short on one side, chin length on the other; she had one hand curled around a dark drink, the other tapping a pencil against a notepad. He slid onto the stool next to her, taking the time to add more details to the puzzle. Business suit, well fitted but new, a worn looking medical alert bracelet on her left arm with a cross charm attached, usually hidden but shown when she lifted the beer to have a drink. Looking up to her hand, he noticed a faint line around her ring finger.

So she was a divorced or widowed business woman, from a small possibly religious town with medical issues. Conservative dress, but her hair makes her stand out. He glanced down at her notebook as he walked past, "To Do for Gotham". A brown hand blocked the rest, he followed the arm up to the now smiling woman.

"It's rude to pry you know." She then removed her hand from the notebook, "I'm trying to figure out that to do first, where to check out in this city." Audrina tucked a purple lock behind her ear and watched him order a drink. She looked over the tall red headed man with sharp green eyes that seemed to draw her in. "So what brings you here sir?"

He turned towards her again, "The answer I give is yes, but what I mean is no. What is the question?"

She gave a puzzled grin and took a slow drink, after a moment she spoke. "I believe it's Do you mind?"

He gave a wide grin, "If I join you for a conversation?"

Audrina laughed and covered her mouth, "Not at all Mr. Riddler." She continued to giggle, "That was smooth." At his grin she leaned forward, "I can tell you like riddles, umm..." She looked around as she thought, "I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry. What am I?"

He quickly replied, "A shadow of course! That was an easy one." Edward walked his fingers over to her notebook, "So what is your answer to my question?"

"Do I mind some conversation? Not at all, do I mind you looking at my personal list? Yes I do." She leaned towards him resting her chin on a curled hand, "Some items in my list are of subjects only brought up to those I lack boundaries with."

Edward smiled to himself as he watched a boundless harlequin walk up behind Audrina. "Ohh! Personal list! I can help with that!" She plucked the small notebook out from under Audrina's hand and started to look it over. "Oh! I know plenty of doctors who could help with a few of these!" Edward laughed as Audrina scrambled to pull the list back. "I'm actually still a licensed Psychiatrist somehow, so I can refill some of these prescriptions for you while you're waiting for a doctor." She gave a small frown while pointing at something on the paper. "Though I'm not sure about this. Isn't it experimental? And usually for-"

"I've been taking it for years. I have to be on it." Audrina cut her off, tense and reaching for the notebook.

Edward looked over Audrina, she knew about people with powers but not heroes or villains, her hair was a flawless purple. Not a single strand showed any inkling of a previous color and her eyebrows even matched. "Audrina, is that medication to suppress your Meta-human gene?"

"What?!" She looked fearful, panicking and he could see her eyes darting for the exits. "Wha- what makes you think that?" She gave a weak laugh, "Meta-human? No that's- that's absurd I just like to color my hair this way. I'm normal, normal completely human over here." Her voice seemed to speed up in her panic and shrink in on herself.  
He didn't like the look of shame upon her face, so he reached a hand over hers, "My dear Audrina, you need not be embarrassed for your DNA, or even for the urge to supress it with use of medications." He then tilted her chin up towards him with his other hand, "You are in good company here. Many of us would not judge you for things others would. It was mearly a guess baised on your medical alert bracelet and the fact that it was experimental."

She gave him a smile and shifted so she was facing the bar again as Harley leaned against her, "I'm from a very religious small town. They believe meta-humans go against God, sure you can adopt one, even be friends with or date one, but just as long as they suppress it." She fussed with the sleeve of her blouse, "What I could do, it was something so extrodinary it went against God, it was sinful for it to happen. No one is beyond God. I was forbidden to- I was put on the medication and I can't even remember what it was I did, but it was something only Jesus should be able to do." She paused and played with her charm for a moment looking forward without actually seeing, "Divorce is the woman's fault, through either lack of faith or lack of faithfulness; yet she will be blamed even if it is her god-fearing husband's fault. As long as he prays on Sunday he can do whatever he wants to his wife. Many things a young woman should know are not taught due to the shameful nature of some things. I was a curse, they avoided me for a power I don't even remember. He didn't though, he said he loved me. That he was the only one who ever would and I believed him." She shook her head and looked at the bar top. "It was a lie. It almost makes one wonder how often I've been lied to. How much being closed off from shame has stunted me." Her hand reached up and touched her collarbone as if in memory, her eyes that has almost glittered while they spoke before were now dull and dark.

He looked at Harley with a frown, her sad face matched his frown over Audrina's head. "Well hey hun I can teach you some of those shameful things and I'm sure we could even have a girls night with Selena and Pam and then you can ask all sorts on embarrassing questions and we could even just paint our nails and braid our hair too!" Harley said as she hugged a now softly laughing Audrina. Harley gave a giggle and looked over at Edward with a glint in her eye that did not bode well for him, "We could even use Ed here to help you learn some things everyone should know too." Audrina quickly stopped her chuckles and her face turned a beet red he thought it was impressive such dark skin could even turn red.

He was sure his face matched her own as he realized what Harley was hinting at, by now Audrina had just hidden her face in her hands. He needed to regain his footing and raise them out of where she was trying to head the conversation. "While your mind may be polluted with such thoughts Harley, they are hardly conversation material for now." He gave a smirk, "Though maybe at a later date when everyone is more comfortable." Audrina's shoulders shook while her face was still hidden by her hands. "My sweet Audrina, is that a cry or a laugh hiding behind your hands."

"It's a laugh but I am still hiding." Came the mumbled response.

Harley reached to pull Audrina's hands away, "I'll stop hun," Audrina peaked out behind her hands and thanked her.

He cleared his throat and decided to lighten the air, "I have legs but walk not, a strong back but work not, two good arms but reach not, a seat but sit and tarry not. What am I?" Both women paused to think before Harley replied,

"Oh! An armchair?"

"Yes, Audrina you came here for work, correct?"

Audrina gave a smirk as she held back a laugh. "That I have, but that was a very blunt subject change. I just got my apartment yesterday, but my boxes should arrive over the weekend. Hopefully I'll have bought a car before then."

"Where did you move from Audrina?" Harley asked,

"Oh, Utah. A small city there." Audrina fiddled with her sleeve before taking another drink of her beer.

"Utah is quite far from Jersey. Was it just work that made you move so far?"

Audrina took a long drink and finished her beer. "You could also say I'm a coward and running away. Away from my church, my family, my ex-husband. Far far away from everything I was." She gave a sad smile to the two rogues before looking down and rubbing the cross on her bracelet. "He'll never find me here. A small town girl in a city like this? Never would have done that."

"If you don't mind, how do you have a southern accent if you're from Utah?"

"I was close to someone from Georgia, so her accent stuck with me while growing up. It has been a challenge to shove it away."

Harley leaned towards Audrina, placing the book back on the table. "If you're running away from who you were, why don't you embrace who you are?"

Fear quickly filled her brown eyes and they flickered between the two of them. "All I know about who I am is who my family was. I cannot fall near the tree. If my power made the whole town force my parents to drug me everyday I've known them, I fear what they could possibly be."

The Riddler leaned towards her, taking in the scar not well hidden by the opened collar of her shirt, a stab wound that looked like it didn't heal well, the fact that she wore concealer under her make up, she was obviously new to covering up her face. It made him wonder what she was hiding under her make up. "Riddle me this Audrina, I am tall when I am young, short when I am old, I glow with life but the wind is my foe. What am I?"

She blinked at him, the fear and tears fading from her eyes. "Why a candle of course. Are we trading riddles now Mr. Riddler?"

He gave a smug grin, "I shall grant you an easier name to call me by if you get this one correct. Tool of thief, toy of queen. Always used to be unseen. Sign of joy, sign of sorrow. Giving all likeness borrowed, what am I?"

He watched her bite her lip, her eyes narrowing as she thought and muttered to herself. "Used to be unseen" He watched her chew her lip and her eyes lit up. "A mask!" She locked eyes with him, noticeably startled at the intensity of his gaze. "Right? I mean, the sorrow and joy made me think of the theater masks and then unseen made me think of hiding but if I'm wrong-"

He raised one gloved finger and silenced her. "You are correct, and a name you can call me aside from The Riddler would be Mr. E Nygma."

She gave a coy smile and looked up at him through long lashes. "So not only are you the giver of riddles, you are an enigma in and of yourself?"

He gave a smile and puffed out his chest. "Why of course. I'm also known as the Prince of Puzzles." He placed a hand over hers and rubbed her fingers lightly. "There is a bit of an enigma in your story though. They way you mention parents, they don't match up."

She gave a half hearted laugh and looked down at his tie. "I was adopted. Those are the parents who forced me on my medication. Before I was just shuffled around. I had a friend who usually ended up with me at whatever house we landed at. She's the one from Georgia. The last family we had before my adoption was horrible. I was happy to go back in the system and she ran away." She gave a smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes. "I used to get a postcard from her every month. Don't suppose I will anymore, but she's still alive and well."

Harley sat next to her and the three of them sat next to each other at the bar, talking and introducing her to what Gotham is like. Edward did love how she traded him riddle for riddle even if she had to take a moment to think over it or failed his riddle. She didn't ever get annoyed as he showed off his intellect, just smiled and let him.

They walked her to a bus stop and everyone went their separate directions. Audrina looking forward to another day at work and finding out more about Gotham.


	2. The coin said to kill them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He sees her again, but this time it's on the news.

When the new day arose and she got ready for work she covered her scars in makeup, brushed her hair back, and slipping on some low heels headed out for her second day at Wayne Industries as one of the many workers. She sat at her desk and booted up her computer, ignoring the whispered comments around her about her purple hair. They didn't bother her after so many years, what still bothered her were the comments people would make about her weight. She could see a few of the rail thin beautiful secretaries look her over and giggle behind their hands. Audrina sighed to herself, shoving back David's words that popped up in her head as if he were sitting next to her.

**_"Face it, you're fat and no one but me will ever love someone as fat as you."_ **

She felt closed her eyes and decided to take a few deep breaths as she felt the tears prickle her eyes. 'I'm not fat. My body weight is just fine, I am as healthy as someone anemic can be, just because of where my weight is placed does not give them the right to laugh at me.' She mentally repeated to herself a few times. Remembering how angry her sister would get when she heard of Audrina being made fun of in church for her weight. She opened her eyes, rolled back her shoulders and looked right at the giggling women giving them a good ol' southern smile that never reached her eyes. She noticed one look away in shame. She then decided to just continue her work. She didn't need to be on friendly terms with everyone.

The day felt like it ticked by slowly before her shift ended and she clocked out, leaving the tall building and it's glass doors behind and walking home, reminding herself she needed to take a day and find a car lot to buy herself a car. As she climbed on the bus and pulled out a book, she never noticed the tall thin blonde follow her home.

* * *

  
There was shouting again, Audrina curled up in a ball on her bathroom floor, the harsh bright light trying to remind her of where she was, but all she could hear were her neighbors yelling and there was a crash, a plate, a vase, something shattering and she wasn't in Gotham anymore. She was curled up on the bathroom floor sobbing, trying to clean the blood up with a towel. She could feel so much pain in her abdomen, he'd thrown her down the stairs. One of his shirts wasn't pressed and she was an idiot. She kept saying sorry over and over again and now here she is too weak and stupid to even keep her baby alive. The lights were so bright she could see the white tile, but then it would flicker back to the red seeping all over the patterned tile David had chosen.   
Suddenly the door flung open and should could hear someone calling her name. " _Audrina?_ " That wasn't right, they must be calling for someone else. She kept apologizing over and over again until she looked up and saw Amber. What was she doing here? "Audrina. Is everything alright?" She blinked. She shook her head and blinked again. No, this wasn't Amber. It was Harley. The eyes were wrong, and Amber had freckles.

  
"I'm sorry Harley. I just- the shouting and it. It's nothing. I'm sorry I worried you."

Harley gave a small frown and helped Audrina up onto her feet. "Audrina, you don't have to answer me, but whose David and what did you mean by you'll have the blood cleaned up?"

Tears welled up in brown eyes as Audrina gasped and almost fell to the floor again. Only Harley grabbing her stopped it. "I was speaking out loud?" Harley nodded. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You don't deserve my pain."

Harley pulled her to the bed and sat down next to her. "Hey, trust me. I know a thing or two about having a man beat you around. My Mista J gave me a shiner just last month for telling his joke first."

Audrina curled up and leaned her head against Harley. "David threw me down the stairs for not ironing his shirt right. I-" She covered her mouth and bit back a sob. "I was in my first trimester. When he found me in the bathroom, trying to clean the blood and sobbing. He shoved my face in it and told me that was God's punishment because I hadn't been punished enough."

Harley curled an arm around Audrina and let her just cry. "David sounds like the worst sort of man."

Audrina gave a sniffle and wiped her eyes. "He's like a monkshood plant. Beautiful to look at, but poison to touch."

"Well, that poison is gone. It's late. Think you could get to sleep now?"

Audrina shrunk back in on herself. "I need to get used to all this noise. I just feel so afraid all the time, but even if he got out of jail, he wouldn't think to look for me in a big city."

Harley nodded, but still pushed Audrina to lie down and tossed the blankets over her. "Well he's not here and if he ever does show up, I can feed him to one of Red's plants. They'd like that."  
Audrina gave a smile and small laugh before succumbing to exhaustion.

* * *

  
It was now the weekend and he strolled into the bar, wondering if he'd see her again. "Riddle me this. I'm assumed to be a gift. That's priceless but can't be bought or sold, yet my value is far greater than a mountain made of gold." The Riddler twirled his cane as he walked towards Audrina who was sitting at a booth this time. It was the first time he'd seen her out of a suit, she looked beautiful in her vintage style dress and cardigan.

She looked up from her notebook and gave a tired smile. "Is it the gift of friendship?"

He grinned brightly, "Why yes it is! Do you have one for me?"

She put down her pencil and thought for a moment, "I never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will. And yet I am the confidence of all to live and breathe on this terrestrial ball. What am I?"

"Tomorrow. Is there an issue with today?" He looked closely at her, taking in the frazzled hair, the circles under her eyes, the tension in her shoulders. "Have you not been sleeping well?"

"It's the noise of the city. I'm still getting used to it." She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair again, not looking at him. She was hiding something from him. "I'm still a bit too paranoid to resort to sleeping pills or ear plugs." He gave a nod in understanding. "But on the positive side I now have a few of my rooms completely set up. Though I do still need to get a guest bed for the second bedroom."

"I'm afraid you are on your own for that." She laughed in response.

"That shall have to wait a while. The guest room is also my sewing room."

"You sew?" He motioned for a waiter to bring him a drink.

She looked down at her hands and fiddled with her fingers, "It originally started as fixing up clothes and then turned into creating some of my own clothes. You're more likely to stay longer with a family when you can be useful. Lately I've been creating dressing gowns for myself since Miss Quinzel has proven to show up in my apartment at inopportune times." She pursed her lips, appearing both amused and annoyed at the bubbly young woman. "I should get some better security for my balcony, but I fear she may take that as a challenge."

"She's taken quite a shine to you." He gave a smile as his eyes twinkled.

"She has, and while it's quite nice to have a friendly face at the end of the day, the fact that she should have neither knowledge of nor a key for my apartment worries me."

"You mean you never told her where you lived?" Edward looked confused, he was glad that Audrina hadn't told someone where she lived before him, but felt cheated that Harley figured it out so quickly.

"Did she ever tell you how she found out?"

"Apparently she just followed me home from work one day." Audrina gave a slow smile. "I should feel worried about her finding and following me so easily, but I do admit that purple hair does stick out."

He leaned forward and brushed his fingers against a purple curl resting against her face. "It is lovely hair, but I do wonder why you choose to keep it colored so."

She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch just a bit. "I've tried coloring it black or brown before, but it always comes back within a day or two. It even grows back quickly no matter how short I cut it." She pulled away and looked down. "I've since given up on trying to fit in via my hair." She gave a small smile, "Plus it proved to be helpful that Harley regularly breaks in last night."

"Did something happen?"

"I had a bad episode and she had to snap me out of it." She bit her lip and looked at the table instead of him. "My neighbors fight and it triggered a flashback." He looked at her realized that was why she looked so worn down, so exhausted. "Attacks like that, they can wear you out."

"Audrina, you should be getting proper medical care if you're having flashbacks." He paused and tapped his fingers on the counter top. "I do have a friend who specializes in fear. He may find your case interesting enough to help."

* * *

  
She walked into a warehouse, every footstep felt so loud as she walked across to the stairs. She slowly walked up them and opened the door to the office. "Hello Miss Hernandez, I am Dr. Crane, Dr. Quinzel recommended me to you?" She gave a small jump, not expecting him to be standing there in the middle of the room. He seemed to tower above her, his sharp eyes looked down his long nose to meet hers. She looked up at him, squared her shoulders and gave him a smile.

Audrina walked up and shook the hand of the tall thin man, "Yes, she said that you were an amazing doctor despite your own time in Arkham. Mr. Nygma also suggested you may be able to help my case."

"Well, fear is my specialty." He nodded his head towards her, motioning for her to take a seat.

"That is good to know. I wish to overcome mine."

He seemed to tower over her while grinning. "That's a very difficult thing to do."

"Fears can be complicated I am aware, but even with my medications, my ex being in jail all the way across the country, and knowledge he is still in jail I cannot stay calm. I can't bring myself to take my sleeping pills, I'm on edge even with my anti anxiety medication, and I find myself drinking much more often than I used to just to put a damper on my mind." Her fingers played with the charm on her alert bracelet during her speech and she kept her eyes on his chest to keep from staring at the floor. "I keep having flashbacks when my neighbors argue." She closed her eyes tightly and her fingers curled into fists. "Last week Harley had to snap me out of one of them. I- I thought I was back there. Trying to clean the blood and hide it from my husband. I didn't want another beating and it was so bad I wasn't just seeing it, I reenacted every word."

"Very well, we shall try to overcome your fears."

* * *

  
He saw her again, not in person, but on the news. Two Face was holding a bank hostage and there she was, standing between him and a mother and child. Edward felt his hands start to sweat as he saw the video being streamed live. He could hear her yelling in that soft southern accent, "Ask the coin again! You don't need to kill us all! **Ask the coin again!** " His breath stopped as he watched Two Face flip the coin in the air. It landed and the person filming zoomed in to see Two Face nod his head and raise his gun in the air.

"It's your lucky day." He said calmly as he then pistol whipped the young woman. She hit the ground and didn't even twitch. The child started screaming and Two Face whipped around, "Somebody shut him up!" he then looked down at Audrina's prone body as the person filming finally spoke, "Holy crap I think he killed her." Two Face kicked her body and flipped her over, both The Riddler and the filmer gave a sigh of relief as her chest rose and fell with each breath. Edward did continue to worry as he realized Audrina was now bleeding from where she had been hit.

Hit with an idea as what to do, he quickly rushed to make sure he had everything needed before heading to the 2nd national bank. He felt fire in his blood and never questioned this betrayal to a fellow Rouge. This needed to be done, he had to protect her she had chosen him over Batman to protect her, he needed to do this. Parking in an alleyway a block down he approached Commissioner Gordan, "Let me in there." The man started to respond but the placement of his question mark cane on his shoulder stopped all words. "It was not a request."

The Riddler shocked most of Gotham watching as he barged into the bank, thankfully while all the henchmen flinched, not one shot which was a plus. "Two Face! Riddle me this! Why are you like a clock at midnight?"

"Dammit Riddler I don't have time for this!" Two Face growled out as he paced in a circle. "Everything's gone wrong!"

"As is your answer. Both of your hands are going straight up right now." He drew a modified pistol out from his vest. Two Face whipped around to look at him, upon seeing the gun he raised his hand.   
"What's the big-" His outburst was cut off by a tranquilizer shooting him in his chest. Chaos ensued as the police burst in and started taking down Two Face's henchmen. The Riddler ignored them all as he walked over to Audrina. The mother had taken Audrina's scarf and was holding it against the head wound to slow down the bleeding.

"Thank you." He whispered to the terrified woman as he lifted Audrina into his arms. He walked past everyone running around and headed to the ambulance. He placed her on the gurney and spoke to the paramedic, "She's very anemic and has some medications that can't be mixed, in her purse is a list of them. I believe it should have the dosages listed as well," He quickly dug through and pulled out the laminated list. "She has no next of kin on this side of the country, may I ride with her to the hospital? Or follow behind?"

"Follow behind, we need the room to work. We're heading to Gotham General Hospital." The Riddler nodded and after brushing his hand against her cheek he started towards his car.

"Riddler." Commissioner Gordan stepped right in front of him. "Stopping criminals isn't your usual thing, are you changing your ways?"

"Commissioner, I truly do not believe so. This was an exception to the normal. The woman hurt, she is a friend. Leaving things as they were may have resulted in her death considering her medications. Commissioner, when is the top of a mountain like a saving's account?" Gordan looked puzzled, "When it peaks one's interest."

The Commissioner gave a solemn nod, "And she has yours."

"Yes she has." With that he headed to his car and followed the ambulance to Gotham General.

Hours later he was finally allowed in. She had to receive two blood transfusions. He sat next to her, holding her ashen still hand. He barely even acknowledged the caped man entering through the window.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to help." The Riddler looked away from Audrina's face to meet the eyes of Batman. "I was held up and could not get there."

"I know who you are. You were in a Board Meeting, it is not like you could make a quick excuse to leave as everyone watched the events unfold. It would have raised suspicion for Bruce Wayne to leave and Batman to appear." He turned away and picked up an ice cube from a Styrofoam cup, he ran it over her lips and put it back. "I will not do your job for you again Bruce."

Batman gave a slow nod, "I understand Edward. Is she going to be alright?"

Edward nodded and ran his hand through his ruffled hair, "They're just waiting for her to wake up. She needed a blood transfusion, so they do have to watch if she has any fever. The fact that she's had several before raises the risks. If she wakes tonight she may be able to leave after a doctor visits in the morning. That would depend on how she is after she finally wakes." He turned back to Batman, "I trust she'll have some time off of work for this? Especially since she should have gained a concussion from Two-Face?"

Batman gave a small chuckle, "The whole Board of Directors watched her stand up to Two Face and take a gun to the head, I doubt anyone will question her being absent for a few extra days." He paused and looked at the young woman, she looked so small and helpless in the hospital bed, "Especially when we sent her to that bank. She was dropping off a check there."

Edward finally let go of her hand as he rushed towards Batman in rage, "You sent her there?! She could have died!" He ran a hand down his face and took a deep breath. "She better be alright when she awakes, because if not it's on your head Batman." They both turned as the woman in the bed groaned and moved her head. Edward rushed back to her side and grasped her hand. "Audrina?" His whisper was soft and full of hope. He didn't even care that Batman left through the open window. She squeezed his hand and gave another groan as she opened her eyes.

With a hiss of pain at the light she flung her left arm over her eyes. After a few breaths she finally spoke, "Nygma, is that you?" He gasped out a reply, thankful she remembered him. "Wh-what happened? The last thing I remember was being at the bank and an odd man with his face half burned going on about a coin." She moved her arm back down and flinched again at the light.

"Just one moment my dear." He reached passed her to hit the call button. "Excuse me, nurse? Audrina has woken up." The light changed color and he sat back in his seat. "You decided to go toe to toe with Two Face, he attacked you." He clasped her right hand with both of his and brought it up to his face, "Please don't do that again. The fear of losing you made me attack him." He could see her frown and start to respond, "I'm aware there will be consequences for attacking a fellow Rouge, but hopefully they know you are not to be touched." Her frown turned into a small smile.

They were interrupted by the doctor entering, "Miss Hernandez, you've finaly woken up!" She nodded behind her arm. "Are we having some light sensitivity?" She nodded very quickly this time. "Okay then. I'll have a nurse dim the lights after we check your vitals, you were very lucky to walk away without a concussion. I would not be surprised if you have a migrane right now," he paused and watched as she moved her hand as if to say 'so-so', "Just starting?" She gave a whispered agreement, "I'll have them give you something to help. If everything comes back normal you should be free to leave in the morning." He wrote somethings down on his clipboard and walked back out.

"Audrina, do you need anything?"

"Water please." He reached over to grab the water, helped her sit up so she could drink some. "Thank you Nygma." Her soft smile directed at him made his heart skip a beat. "It was very kind of you to rescue me, especially if it meant you hurt your friend," She gave a small frown, "Is he going to be alright?"

"He'll be fine, I did a lot less damage than if the Batman had shown up, or if the police had decided to risk going in." He squeezed her hand again. "You are very lucky someone was live streaming the whole thing with their phone." A nurse came in and started to take her blood pressure. "If I hadn't seen it-" he cut himself off, not want to say it out loud. "Let's just hope you get better, alright?"

Audrina nodded and tilted her head so the nurse could take her temperature. The nurse gave the two of them a small smile as she wrote down some numbers. She reached over and clicked a button that dimmed the lights of the room.

"This pill with help with that migrane hun, let us know if it doesn't help or gets worse. Everything looks good and if it stays the same you should be good to go tomorrow." She gave Audrina a pat on the leg, a little paper cup with a pill and left.

Audrina took her pill and looked at him, sitting sadly in his chair staring into space. "Mr. E Nygma, three lives have I, one gentle enough to soothe the skin, a second light enough to caress the sky, and a third hard enough to crack rocks. What am I?"

He looked up at her with a grin, lifting one hand off his cane and reaching for hers. "You are water."

She gave a smile and placed her other hand over his, she laughed a little at how small her hands were in comparison to his. "Water adapts to everything. Mr. Nygma, it can harden if need be, it will flow around all obsticles in it's path, and over fire it will become steam. Think of me like water, I will adapt." Her hands tightened over hers and he could see her clench her jaw for a moment. "This is not the first time a man has hospitalized me, but it's the first time it was for standing up for someone. If I get a scar from where my skin broke, I will be proud of it." She looked him in the eyes, his green ones seemed sad while hers were almost sparkling. "Come closer Mr. Nygma." He stood up in his chair and leaned over to her. She placed one hand on his cheek and ran it back behind his neck, pulling him down for a kiss on the forehead. "You were my hero today though. Thank you so much." She leaned back and closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep.

"Hero? That's right. I guess that could have been heroic." He looked over Audrina, the hospital gown showing the most skin she'd ever shown around him. He looked at her face, noticing only some of her make-up was removed. He couldn't help his curiosity and grabbed a small damp towel from the bathroom. He started to wipe her face, there were some small scars on her face, some patches of skin that were twany as opposed to her usual shade of sepia brown, even a spot of two where it was darker. It surprised him that she went through such trouble to cover such beautifully unique skin. As he wiped the side of her face he could see a fading scar near her jawline. He frowned to himself, thinking that in order for her to have hidden that one she must have been locked in the house the whole time it healed.

He placed the cloth down and looked at her arms. He picked them up and turned them to look around the whole arm. He could see the defensive scars and the ones from when her ex obviously held her down to cut her. Something tugged at him, saying he shouldn't be looking over her like this, that he was invading her privacy. He shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts. What happened to her, how she got here, it was a puzzle he needed to solve. He looked over the other arm, seeing similar scars until he got down to her forarm, above the self defense scars, looking between one and two years old was a long scar along her vein. His blood turned to ice as his head snapped towards her face.

He couldn't understand it, she was strong enough to handle being the outcast her whole life, she lived through what must have been years of spousal abuse, he couldn't believe she tried to take her life at one point. He stood up, the room seemed to sway around him and he stumbled over to the still open window. He stuck his face outside and took deep breaths. He turned back towards Audrina, she looked so peaceful, so pure even covered in scars. He closed the window and walked back over to the seat and sat down next to her. He moved the blankets so only the arm with the IV was uncovered. "I hope you sleep well Audrina. I'll be back in the morning." He leaned over her, looking down at her cupid's bow lips. He shook his head and gave a kiss on her forehead instead. Then he turned to leave, just glancing back before he closed the door.

The next morning he held her arm as she walked out of the hospital. She gave him a smile as they headed to the parking garage. "You know you didn't have to do this for me. I can call a cab."   
He moved to stand infront of her and placed both hands on her shoulders. "I want to be here for you, I need to see that you arrive home safely and that you are fine." She took a step towards him and gave him a hug. He paused and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I don't want to let you go." She responded with a quick squeeze and they stood there for a moment her head buried in his chest and his resting on hers. He gave a small sigh and stepped back, "Come now, I'm sure we both want to get clean and change." He guided her to his car, a simple sedan that blended in with all the others.

She gave a small smile and raised an eyebrow at it. "I find that slapping an insignia on a car to be too easy of a clue." She giggled as she climbed into the passanger seat. She saw the pillow and blanket in the back but refrained from mentioning them. He then turned on the engine and turned towards her, "My dear Audrina, should we go to your place or mine first?"

"Why Mr. Nygma!" She gasped dramatically as she placed a hand over her chest. "I'm not that kind of a lady." Her eyes sparkled to let him know she was joking.

"Well I must not offend such a delicate flower, I shall drop you off at your place, then freshen up at mine." He grinned at her. She gave a smile and nodded in agreement at the plan. "Would it be improper if I asked to rejoin you at your apartment for a day together?"

He loved the color of her sepia skin mixed with the red of her blush. "It would be, but I think this once would be alright." She gave a coy smile up at him. "We could be a bit improper." He felt his heart race and was glad for his gloves covering his sweating palms. She leaned back in her seat as he shifted his focus to driving the busy streets. He took a few deep breaths through his nose to calm himself down, his body was reacting as if he were a teenager around a pretty girl. He took a glance at the purple haired woman next to him, she may not be the classic pale slender beauty that was popular now, but she had a charm with her high cheekbones, small but square jaw, and almond eyes. Seeing her away from the harsh hospital lights she didn't look much different without her make-up. Her lashes were shorter and he could see the same light and dark patches on her cheeks especially near her eyes, and some scarring on her face that was usually covered with some sort of concealer. He focused his attention fully on the road again and turned towards her apartment.

"Would an hour suffice my dear?" She smiled and nodded as he pulled up in front of her building. She paused before exiting the car, looked to be in debate and quickly leaned over and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before leaving to her apartment.

She grinned to herself as she skipped up the stairs to her apartment. Once inside the building she headed into the elevator, giving a smile at the red headed woman exiting while carrying a potted plant. "That's a lovely orchid you're carrying."

The woman gave a bright smile, "Why thank you! I had intended to gift it to a friend of a friend as a 'get well' gift, but it appears she's not in yet." Audrina looked at the woman again, noticing the green tint to her hands.

"Would you happen to be known as 'Red'?" The woman gave a hearty laugh and stepped back into the elevator.

"That's my Harley, you wouldn't happen to be Audrina would you?" Audrina gave a nod. "This is for you, I figured it might be rude to just leave it inside your apartment. My name is Dr. Pamela Isley, but I go by Poison Ivy now a days."

Standing together she could see Pamela was a much taller than herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Isley. I've just come back from the hospital, Mr. Nygma just dropped me off and will be returning within an hour." Audrina stepped out once it reached her floor, "You're welcome to join me inside if you'd like."

Pamela gave a slow grin. "If only to make sure you're alright, Harley called me in a panic when she saw that footage on the late night news." At Audrina's look she continued, "Harley's in Arkham for now though with phone privileges apparently, so she should be giving Two Face a piece of her mind about now." Audrina unlocked her door and let her in. They both stopped at the single red rose sitting on the counter with a note underneath.

Audrina's hands were shaking as she moved the rose to pick up the note. "I'll be seeing you." She dropped it and dashed around Ivy to slam the door shut. "No no no no!" she started breathing quickly and seemed to curl in on herself, "How'd he find me? He's supposed to be in jail, oh no no no." Pamela placed the plant down, grabbed her and gave her a quick shake.

"What are you talking about?" Her firm tone cause Audrina's eyes to snap towards her.

"My ex-husband! He tried to kill me but I didn't die! I didn't die and now he's trying to finish the job!" She looked wildly around the room, "He could be here still!"

"Stop. Take a breath, I'll look around the apartment real quick, okay?" Audrina nodded quickly as Pamela sat her down on a couch. "I'm just going to check the two other rooms, bathrooms, and closets, okay?" She headed towards the first bedroom and saw an old torn up and blood stained dress lying on the bed. As she walked up there was another note on top of it. "Remember this?" She read aloud. She crumpled the note and with a wrinkled nose lifted up the dress. It looked as if the wearer had been in a horrible accident. There was dried blood all over the dress and it had many cuts and holes in it. Folding the dress up she looked in the closet and found nothing but clothes and boxes. She then walked to the bathroom and checked the shower, empty.

She turned back to the living room and tossed both the crumpled note and the dress in the trash. Audrina was still sitting where she had been left, her hands now curled around a cell phone and rocking back and forth. Pamela paused before speaking, "Your room is clear. I'm sure you want to take a shower before Riddler comes back, you could take it while I search the other room?" Adurina gave a quick nod and shakily headed to the shower.

Pamela continued to the other room, a sewing mannequin gave her a fright when she first turned on the light. She looked at the green dress hanging off of it for a moment before checking the closet. Costumes hung from the railing and rolls of fabric stacked up below them. She saw boxes with beads, thread, and other fastenings on the top shelf. Satisfied she headed towards the other bathroom, light on and checking the shower, nothing. "Cowardly man, leaves behind items to scare her and hides for another day."

She walked back into the living room and looked around as she heard the shower still running. Photos were standing on the mantle of a gas fireplace. She saw one of Audrina as a purple haired pre teen hugging a small blonde haired green eyed girl. They were both smiling at the camera. She picked up the one next to it, a young still purple haired Audrina was standing next to a stern looking but smiling old Mexican couple. "Those are my grandparents, I got to visit them once in Mexico." Pamela put the photo down and turned towards Audrina, now in a long brown skirt and a dark green button down, still drying her hair with a towel. "The girl in the other picture is my sister. That was taken a long time ago, when my family adopted me." Pamela looked back at the picture.

"How old were you?" Audrina just smiled and walked away to put the towel back.

She came back with a hair brush and began brushing it to one side. "Well I was only 12 then. So I've had this family for 13 years."

"You're only 25? You're so young!" She ran up and put both hands on either side of Audrina's face. "It's no wonder Harley is so protective of you." Audrina gave a smile and moved Pamela's hands.

"I'm well aware of my youth, now I've calmed down some thanks to my medication. Thank you for checking my apartment. I'm going to start making some pancakes before Edward arrives, would you like to stay for them?"

"Oh no thank you dear, but I would like to stay until he arrives. Harley would be so unhappy if I left you alone after all you've been though."

"It has been a bit of a roller coaster lately."

Pamela leaned over the counter, her head resting on her hands, "So, I've heard that The Riddler got himself a girl." She said with a grin.

Audrina blushed as she continued making the pancakes, "I don't know where you heard that, but we're friends. I will admit to some attraction to Mr. Nygma, but we have yet to state intentions or even go on a proper date. Though-" she gulped as she started stirring the pancakes, "today will be the first time we're actually alone together and I did give him a kiss on the cheek before I left his car." Her faced seemed to just gain more color. "I supposed that might count as me stating my intentions towards him."

"Aww, that's so sweet. He does need someone and from what Harley tells me he's sweet on you." She watched as Audrina put the cakes on the griddle and pulled out blueberries, a potato masher, and sugar. "You're making your own syrup?" She asked with a surprised look.

"Well of course. Though his I'm putting in a cup on the side." Audrina continued cooking. "So um, Harley thinks he really does like me?"

"He's been both happy and in deep thought since he first met you. Most of us have noticed a difference, except a few of the wilder Rogues that bring out his darker side."

"So if you don't mind, why are you all called The Rogues? I don't think I've seen any of you work together."

"Well Batman actually gave us, the villains he fights against the most that nickname, we liked it, so we're the Rogue's Gallery." Audrina gave a nod in understanding. "Does it bother you at all that he's a villain?" She shook her head. "Really?"

"Well, he doesn't rape anyone, right?"

"Oh heaven's no! That's deplorable." Pamela gasped as she placed a hand on her chest.

"Exactly, and he doesn't murder children?"

"Of course not, most of us believe children should be protected." She gave a pause, "Except for Robin or Batgirl. And Scarecrow used to use children for experiments, but he hasn't used them in years."

"Good, and as long as those two lines are not crossed I shall continue to not be bothered. I only stood up to Two Face because 'The coin told him to kill them.' And I could not let that happen." She gave a nod and added some sugar and lemon to the boiled blueberries.

Pamela scrunched up her face, "He's a bit unpredictable, but easily manipulated. I'm still not sure why he's considered a big villain. He can be quite brilliant when Harvey's in charge though. Aside from that I suppose he's good for a muscle man."

Audrina shrugged her shoulders while putting the pancakes on two plates, "Well from what little I've heard of you from the other people in Gotham, you all seem to have a theme. He does too, even if it's a coin flip." She gave a bright smile as there was a knock on the door. "Perfect timing!" She walked over to the door and stood on her toes to look through the peephole. She gave a nod then opened the door.

As the door opened Nygma swept in and pulled Audrina in for a kiss. Pamela smiled at how happy the two of them looked. He stepped back and broke the kiss. "I do hope that wasn't too forward of me?" She shook her head no and stepped back to let him in. He was out of his usual green suit and wore casual blue dress pants with a white button down, he had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of suspenders on. He then looked in the apartment and saw the other guest. "Poison Ivy?" His arms tightened around Audrina. "What are you doing here?"

"Relax Riddler, just because we don't usually get along doesn't mean I can't be nice. She's a friend of Harley's and," Pamela gave a slow grin as she sauntered up and traced his jaw, "She helps temper that obnoxious attitude you have."

His face flushed red with anger, "I am not obnoxious!"

Pamela just threw her head back in a laugh, "Sure you aren't." With a wink towards Audrina she sauntered out the door.

Edward looked down at the smiling woman in his arms. "Are you truly alright Audrina?"

"There was a moment when I realized my ex husband or someone who knows my past had broken in, but Pamela was kind enough to check over the apartment for me. I saw her throw something away in the trash before she looked over my photos." Audrina leaned her head against his chest. "I think it would be best if I didn't see what she tossed. It's for my own protection."

"He was here?"

She looked up at him with watery eyes, "It means he's free."

He ran a hand down her back and rested his chin on her head. "Or he could have a contact for the outside. There are plenty of ways for criminals to affect the outside world while being locked inside." He stepped back and pulled her in for a kiss again. "You will be safe, don't worry my dear."

She looked up at him with a sad smile. "Well Mr. E Nygma, I suppose if we're at the point of kissing I really should have a first name to call you by."

"Edward. My name is actually Edward Nashton. I prefer Nygma to Nashton though, so I'd like you to keep that a secret." He placed his chin on the top of her head and held her tightly.

"I can keep that secret Edward. I can even try to call you only Nygma or Riddler if we're in public."

He gave her another kiss, one hand cupping her cheek as she stood on her tip toes. "If you ever have to tell people you've got a man, feel free to use Edward."

She was blushing when he pulled away from her, "I made us breakfast while Dr. Isley and I spoke." She walked over to the stove, pulling plates out of a cupboard and serving pancakes, drizzling syrup over one and pouring the rest in a small cup. "I hope pancakes are alright?" She seemed to shrink in a little bit when she asked.

He reached for her hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Yes, they sound amazing." He watched her visibly relax and pull out a fork and knife for each of them before sitting next to him at the breakfast bar. "Say Audrina, why did the scarecrow win so many awards?" He gave a big grin and laughed when she put her hand on her face.

"It's because he was out standing in his field isn't it?" He made a finger gun motion as he ate some more pancake. "That's just bad." She laughed, "Funny, but so bad. Are we doing bad joke time?" She giggled some more as she thought of hers. "What's clever and can easily get under your skin?" He paused and looked at her, confused and not sure if he should be insulted. "I have no clue but it ain't you."

He laughed, he laughed so hard he snorted and covered his face.

"It wasn't that bad was it?" She leaned in towards him as he kept hiding his face and laughter.

It took him a while but he finally stopped laughing. "No Audrina, it's perfect. I get told so often I'm annoying I thought for a moment you were going to say the same thing. The fact that you made it a cheesy pick up line was not expected at all."

She blushed and bumped her shoulder against his. "I don't think you're annoying at all. In fact, I think you are intelligent, attractive, and brave."

"Brave?" He felt hopeful, but he couldn't understand how she could possibly call him brave. He was usually called a coward even if he did escape to save his own skin. "I'll give you the first two, but brave?"

"Edward, you dove for the taser of the fearful trigger happy woman to stop a situation before it happened. Then you stood up to him, that hulking giant-"

"It's the costume, he's not really that big you know."

"Hush you, you stood up in front of a man much bigger than either of us to keep me safe or at least give me the illusion of safety. Then you apparently rescued me!" She turned on her phone and opened the link Harley had sent her. "Not only that, you walked into a hostage situation against Two-Face and shot him calmly. You sir, Riddler, Edward Nygma are brave in my eyes."

He stared down at the video, it was that same livestreamer. The phone was almost dropped when he had slammed the doors open. He didn't realize how determined he looked, his red hair falling out of place and into his eyes as he shot Dent. He then watched as the person zoomed out to see the police rush in, but he could see himself in the background walking over to Audrina and picking her up. He looked back up at the smiling woman before him. "That can't be me."

"Yes it is. Brave." She placed on hand on his cheek and turned him to face her. "On top of those three things, you are determined, you are strong, and you are caring."

"I think most people would equate determined with stubborn." He looked at Audrina, wondering how she could see so much in him when it wasn't true. "Though I am putting off some of my plans to thwart Batman."

She started to pick up the plates and clean them, "If you don't mind my asking, what is the issue with Batman?"

Edward look angry and slammed his fist on the counter, making Audrina just and drop the plate. "He cheats! I can't prove I'm smarter than him if he keeps cheating! Just once I want him to admit defeat, to admit that I have the intellect to stop the so called 'World's Greatest Detective'." He heard silence and looked up from his fist. Audrina was standing next to the sink, wide eyed and one hand gripping the counters edge. "Audrina, I'm sorry none of that was directed at you. Batman just frustrates me."

She placed one hand on her chest and tried to calm her breathing. "I'm aware you're anger is contained. It's just- You yelled and I panicked."

He walked around the counter to her, ignoring the broken plate still by their feet he pulled her into his arms. "I can try to contain my anger, don't you fear though. It will always be aimed at Batman instead of you. I can see how much your ex has affected you and I will endeavor to not be like him."

She took a step back and started picking up the larger pieces by their feet. "Well you've already got one thing over him." She gave a small smile from where she knelt, "You apologized. He never did."

"Where's your broom?" He pulled her up by her arms.

"What?" She started to walk towards it anyways, pulling it out of a closet.

"Your broom. You don't need to be on hands and knees picking up shards that could cut you. You are away from him. Do what's best for you." She just gave a silent nod and unclipped the dustpan from her broom, sweeping up the plate remains. He took the dustpan from her and walked to the trashcan, he looked down and saw what Ivy had hidden from Audrina, It was a folded up piece of cloth covered in bloodstains. He looked over and saw her washing her hands. He placed the dustpan on the counter and picked up the fabric. He started to unfold it and realized it was a dress. There were tears and cuts in the dress. It looked like someone had to cut it off of her, but he could see the stab marks in the dress.

The water stopped and he balled it back up, tossing it in and dumping the broken plate over it. He hated this David. "Audrina?"

She looked up at him, "Yes Edward?"

"Do you feel comfortable telling me how you came to Gotham? What exactly David did that you were granted a divorce?" He couldn't tear his eyes away from the bits of dress he could still see. He heard a whimper and snapped his head towards her. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself.

"He tried to kill me. He's in jail or should be in jail. That's- that should be the only thing that matters. He's gone and I'm free. I can be Audrina once I figure out who she really is." She tried to curl in on herself moving to the couch and pulling her bare feet under her.

"Riddle me this, I'm lighter than a feather, but even the strongest man can only hold me for a short period of time." He walked over to her and sat down on the table.

She gave a hitched laugh. "Breath. Are you reminding me to breathe Edward?"

"Yes I am. It's not healthy to get caught up in those memories so easily." He picked up one of her hands, running his fingers over her palm, tracing the different lines while she calmed down."Should we go somewhere? I sense getting out of the apartment someone broke into might be a good idea."

She gave a small nod. "Hardware store. I'm getting a deadbolt. I'm not sure on securing the balcony. I'm on the 4th floor, but that hasn't proven an issue for Harley." She stood up and walked over to a shoe rack to grab a pair of wedges. "It's been nice having her check up on me at night. I'm just not sure if I should trade the sense of security for actual security."   
He bent over and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "That's up to you Audrina, but I'll help you pick the best deadbolt possible."


	3. Of Laughter, Terror,and Sewing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrina gets to stand up for someone, attend a gala, and prove how much she'll do for her friends

She heard their screaming again. All she wanted to do was curl up and cover her ears. She wanted to shut it out. She heard the man yell something and there was a loud thump against the wall. She flinched and struggled to gain control of her breathing. She could almost see it, the David standing over her and shouting. The woman started screaming, actually screaming. Audrina dove for her phone and dialed 911, reporting the fighting of her neighbors and how the wife just started screaming. "Please send help! I think he's hurting her." The operator just assured her they'd send someone to check up on them but not to worry.

Audrina jumped when she heard a thump against her wall again and the woman started begging for him to put it down. Her blood turned to ice and she didn't think, just threw her robe on and grabbed her tazer. She ran out into the hallway and started pounding on the door, shouting for them to open up. She was shaking from fear and holding the tazer by her side ready for him. The door swung open and a small heavily bruised woman stood there.

"Sorry for loud noises-"

"Is he hurting you? I'm your neighbor, I heard you scream for him to put something down." Audrina whispered, "I've been in your position, just tell me yes or no if you want me to get you out."

The woman looked ready to cry, "Yes." She mouthed. Audrina could see her eyes dart to the side and knew the husband had to be standing there. With a courage she didn't know she had, Audrina grabbed the woman and dragged her into the hallway, running into her apartment and ignoring the shouts and heavy footsteps behind them. She shoved the woman in first and quickly slammed the door shut, throwing herself against it as she locked it and slid the deadbolt in.

They both flinched as the man started pounding on her door, screaming he would kill them both. Audrina ran to her cell phone and prayed the police were on their way. "Don't bother call, they never come." The woman whispered from her spot on the kitchen floor.

"Okay, well then I'll call someone who hopefully will come." Audrina looked in her contacts list and called Harley Quinn, hoping she'd answer.

"Hey Audrina! It's nice of you to call, but I'm a bit busy fighting Batman right now."

"I need your help! Batman too if possible. Please hurry before he breaks down the door!" Audrina turned and her neighbor screamed as the door started to crack. "Hurry!"

On a rooftop far away Harley stopped flipping to avoid Batman and went wide eyed as they both could hear the scream from the phone. "I'm on my way. Nobody's going to hurt you!" She turned towards Batman and shoved her phone back in her corset, "Sorry Bats! We gotta finish this another time." She took off running. Robin and Batman looked towards each other.

"Let's follow her. Whoever called her is in need of help." They took off after Harley, stopping when they saw her flip onto a balcony and get let in by a very shaken young woman with purple hair. Batman's eyes narrowed, he recognized that woman. They heard another scream and watched both women run inside. "Wait here." Batman dove down to the balcony and saw Harley Quinn fighting off a man twice her size while the purple haired woman shoved an obviously beaten woman behind her while holding one hand with a taser out. The man got a lucky hit in and knocked Harley to the side and raised a gun towards the two women. Batman quickly threw a baterang and knocked the gun out of his hand. All four people turned and the man paled.

"I don't want any trouble here." He raised both hands and backed up.

Harley pulled herself up, holding her arm where she'd landed. "You wanted trouble when you beat your wife! You wanted trouble when you broke down my friends door! And ya definitely wanted trouble trying to fight me, but Batman shows up and you cower?" She stomped up to the quickly backing away man. "I'll show you trouble!" She punched the guy and knocked him out. Harley turned towards Batman. "Thanks Bats, I knew you'd follow me." She gave a smile and walked over to the two women, still holding onto one arm and wincing.

The one who was possibly the man's wife broke down crying. "Thank you! Thank you!" She turned towards Batman, "How long he be in jail for?" She fell to her knees. "Please tell me he go to jail!"

"He'll be in jail, don't worry about that. Hopefully it will be a long time." He turned towards Harley. "You were never here. It'll be easier without your involvement and I can say the balcony was open and I heard the screams." She gave a nod and walked out into the balcony.

"Hey Robin! Mind giving me a lift? I can't be here!" She shouted up where Robin was sitting and waiting. Batman stepped out briefly and gave him a wave to come down before stepping back inside.

He cuffed the man and contacted the police, they were sending someone out now. Audrina pulled her neighbor to standing and walked her over to a couch to sit on. "Would you like something to drink?" Her neighbor just shook her head and kept crying tears of relief. "It's alright. He's going to be gone now. Do you have anyone to go to?" She shook her head and kept sobbing. "Can you afford to live on your own?"

"I wasn't allowed to work. I have degrees, and know many languages. My family wanted me to find good husband." She seemed to give up crying for a moment, just wiping her face and trying to calm down.

"I'll see if they're hiring at my job, and hopefully there's charities that can help you for a while?" Audrina sounded unsure. Her hands fluttered uselessly as she tried to think of what she could do or say, but she still barely knew Gotham.

Batman walked up to both of them and knelt down infront of the crying woman. "Contact the Martha Wayne Foundation, tell them what happened. They'll get you all the help you need." He stayed and spoke with the officers that came, the paramedics took her neighbor away to give her a complete check over and photograph all the bruises.

Audrina just stood in the hallway, looking at her now broken door before stepping back into her apartment. There was splintered wood all around, she could see the broken end table and lamp from when Harley was knocked down. She turned and looked at the doorframe, a small smile reaching her lips when she realized the deadbolt was still in place. She just never accounted for someone breaking down the door itself. She walked to the bedroom and picked up her phone. She sat on the bed, unsure of who to call, what to do.

How do you tell someone that it's 3 in the morning and you no longer have a door to your apartment? How do you make them realize how confused you feel for finally standing up to someone hurting another woman? Her head was swimming and she wanted to go back to sleep, but she had nothing protecting her from the outside world. She jumped as her phone lit up. There was a text from an unknown number. 'This is Batman, there should be some people coming by to replace your door and locks in the next 20 minutes. You did good.'

She gave a small smile and saved the message after replying 'thank you'. She sat in the livingroom, phone in hand waiting for her door to be replaced. Only after it was replaced and she was given the new keys and locked it did she finally fall asleep on the couch.

The next day she was exhausted at work, but tried not to let it show. Bruce Wayne himself stopped by her desk, much to the dismay of her coworkers. "Audrina, right?" She looked up at him, a tired smile not reaching her eyes as they both heard the whispered complaints about him showing her attention.

"Yes Mr. Wayne. What can I help you with?"

"I couldn't help but notice a few reports with similar addresses, this new applicant Nuan Zhou? Is she your neighbor?"

"That she is, I can carpool her to get here if necessary. Her English is still improving, but it is her 5th language." She straightened up and looked right at him, knowing she needed to help Nuan get this job. If she worked here she didn't have to struggle to afford an apartment.

"I saw that, very impressive. It would make board meetings run smoother if we had a personal translator on hand for any business negotiations." He was nodding to himself and looking over the other desks as he spoke to her.

She gave him a bright smile, hopeful for her neighbor. "I can only imagine Sir."

"Audrina, you speak a couple extra languages yourself do you not?"

"Well, I can sign and speak Spanish, but I hardly think signing counts as another language, it's one everyone should know." She could hear one of the women scoff and mutter something like 'show off', "I mean, people should be able to communicate even though their different, right?" She turned and smile right at the woman who scoffed. Bruce Wayne just raised an eyebrow and ignored it.

"There's a charity event in a few days, one of my guests wants to bring his daughter along but she's deaf, would you care to act as her translator that night?" He gave one of his smiles that usually had the girls swooning but Audrina did not appear to be affected.

"Not a problem Mr. Wayne. I'd love to help her enjoy her night."

"Good, I'll have an email sent to you with the details." He gave her a nod and walked out of the open office area to the elevator.

The blonde woman that seemed to dislike her the most stormed up to Audrina's desk, "How can you speak to him like that? How can you even be invited to an event? Do you know how hard it is for one of us office workers to get in and you with your purple hair get in and the worst part is you're fat with no sense of style! You dress like you came out of the 1950's with a cardigan for crying out loud! It's just not fair!" She stomped her foot while yelling at Audrina.

Audrina looked around to see how the others were reacting to this, most of them were pretending to ignore the whole situation, she saw a few nodding and even fewer looked angrily at the blonde woman. "I'm sorry, but what's your name again dear?" She laid her accent thicker, she was getting tired of this woman.

"It's Cheryl! I have my own damn nameplate! You should know who I am by now."

Audrina placed a hand over her heart and made sure to keep her voice as sweet and kind as possible. "Well bless your heart Cheryl for being such a hard worker on your body that the mear sight of a size 12 offends you. I understand that I lack the same type of fashion you have, but I dress this way for a reason Cheryl and it's not one you've earned the right to know. As to how I speak to Mr. Wayne, it's called with respect which, bless your heart I think you need to learn more of. Now if you don't mind, some of us have work to continue with. I'll be sure to let Mr. Wayne know how much you want to attend though." 

* * *

  
They met her again at a charity event, of course Riddler and a few rouges had decided to work together that evening and were holding up the very event she was attending for Wayne Industries. The Riddler climbed on top of a table, pulled a gun from inside his jacket and fired one shot into the air "Riddle me this Gotham! What disappears the moment you say it's name?"

Everyone looked around panicked, no one but Aurdina and possibly Riddler himself, noticed Bruce Wayne quickly escape through a trick panel. She turned towards the teenager next to her and signed something, the girl nodded and quickly ran towards her father and clung onto his arm. Audrina took a step forward, hoping the rogues she was friendly with had already seen her. "Silence." She looked up at the man she cared for, giving a soft smile, "I assume that is what you want from us?"

He gave an over the top grin, jumped down and pointed his cane at her, stopping within an inch of her face. He was surprised and glad to see she trusted him enough not to flinch. "We have someone with a brain here! That is exactly what we want! Everyone quiet and cooperative, no calling the police, no Batman, just silence."

She gave a nod and took a step back, removing her pearl necklace as she did so. "I will cooperate." The Riddler motioned for one of the many henchmen holding a bag to take the necklace from her. She also took off her earrings and dropped them in as well. Many of the other guests followed suit, a few that tried to hold out gave up their valuables with a wave of a gun.

A dark figure burst through the balcony doors and caused most of the guests to scream and start running amok. Someone cried out, "It's Batman!" Which did little to stop the people from running and instead had more of the criminals running as well. Audrina was jostled around and almost fell over until she felt vines wrap around her, she started to shout until she saw Riddler put a finger to his lips as he gave a nod to Poison Ivy. Her arms were outstretched and the vines were wrapping around everyone still in the room. Audrina watched Batman leap out of the way and throw a dark object towards Ivy. Riddlers cane deflected it before the object hit her. A small child in costume ran up towards Audrina and tried to cut the vines holding her.

"Stop!" She put her hands out. "I'm safe where I am. The plants aren't hurting me, help some of the people in harm's way." He gave her a confused look and ran off, doing a few front flips over Ivy's plants before kicking her in the stomach. She slid back a few inches and the vines loosened significantly. The remaining guests ran after pulling the vines, Audrina moved behind a column to watch what was happening and to keep an eye on Riddler. "Please don't get hurt." She whispered to herself as she watched him fight Batman.

She watched the four people left in the room almost dance in the way they were fighting. A clawed hand curled over her shoulder and made her jump, but she held her breath. "Relax. We haven't met, but I'm taking you to The Riddler's hideout before Batman or Boy Wonder realize I'm here." Audrina turned to see a beautiful woman in a catsuit complete with ears. She gave a nod and took the offered hand. The two women ran outside, one with ease, the other huffing and pulling her dress up to her knees. They stopped when they reached a car hidden around the corner. "Change of plans!" She pushed the woman in the backseat and tossed a blanket over her. "Get down and pretend to be a bag!" She whispered, Audrina nodded and curled up as small as possible. The car raced around to the open doors and the unnamed rogue gave a sharp whistle.

Ivy leaped out the window and after a roll started running towards the car, seconds later Riddler jumped out after her, landing on her vines and sliding them down to the car. They both jumped in, Ivy in front and Riddler in the back next to the still hidden Audrina. Laughing Catwoman pulled off her cowl as she hit the accelerator and shouted, "Where to darlings?"

"Anywhere but here!" Ivy laughed as the wind blew through her hair.

"Riddler, there's a present waiting for you in the backseat!" Catwoman shouted over the wind.

"Why Selina! A gift for me?" He pulled back the blanket and Audrina lifted her head up, blinking owlishly at him. "My sweet Audrina! It's good to see you got out just fine!" He pulled her to a sitting position and slung his arm around her shoulders. "I'm quite glad to see you. You really did make everything a lot smoother by being the first to step up." He whispered into her ear. She gave a shudder at his warm breath. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out her necklace. "Your earrings are also in my pocket my dear." She nodded, put her pearls back on and curled closer against him.

Ivy looked back at the two curled up in the back seat. "It's so sweet." She smiled over at Selina who was grinning and keeping her eyes on the road. "We should show her his hideout, don't you think?"

"That was my original thought, to drop her off there, but I figured you two might have needed a quick escape."

Audrina smiled and looked up at Edward, "That was an exhilarating and unexpected turn for my evening."

He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, "I hope I didn't frighten you my dear."

"Are you kidding? That was exciting!" She laughed. "I got to watch you work, see you fight Batman, I even got to speak to his sidekick too!"

Edward smiled as Ivy laughed, "This life is always exciting."

Selina looked in the mirror and gave a laugh, pulling her cowl back on. "It's about to get exciting again! We've got Batman and the boy wonder on our tail!"

Audrina turned back in her seat to look behind her. "Oh dear. Will you be able to outrun them?"

They watched as Ivy moved an arm while Selina took a turn and branches quickly grew behind them. Audrina gasped as Edward yanked her down right before the Batmobile started to catch up with them. "Audrina, you need to pretend I kidnapped you. Alright?"

"But Edward-"

"No. I will not let your named be marred as a criminal." He gave her a quick kiss before yanking off his tie and binding her arms behind her back. "Ivy, got anything we can use to make her look more like a kidnapping victim?"

Poison Ivy leaned back over her seat, barely even noticing the Batmobile catching up on them. "How about some ivy to cover your mouth and hold your legs together?" She gave a painted red smirk and reached one hand through Audrinas hair, the plant starting in her hair and weaving all around her, the leaves even covering her mouth.

The car chase was wild, and since Audrina was now bound like a kidnappee she couldn't adjust for the sharp turns. Edward ended up just holding her in his lap to prevent her from hitting the floor again. She just blushed the whole time and after what felt like many turns and even a few runs through narrow alleyways Selina checked the rearview and declared them safe. Ivy just reached back to brush Audrina's hair and the plant released her before settling back into her hand.

"Here we are, drop off for two." Selina called to the back with a laugh.

Audrina slid off of Riddlers lap, blushing and then climbing out of the car. "So where are we?" Edward climbed out after her and waved off the other two rouges. He placed an arm around her shoulders and turned her towards the warehouse.

"This is where I'm meeting up with whatever henchmen didn't get caught, we'll go over what we got then sell whatever anyone doesn't want to keep or pawn off. I let them all get tipped so they're more likely to help again next time." He gave a sigh, "Of course Echo broke her leg a few days ago and Query refuses to leave her side, so I really am glad for your help. They usually either attend in advance as plants to help or they are my backup. Without them I had to ask Ivy and Selina for help, I'm sure Selina kept a fair amount of jewels for herself." He guided her inside, looking down at her she looked like an angel to him. Her purple hair had grown down to her shoulders and she curled it around her face, Her gown had a low cut and clung to her but it had black sheer cloth up to her neck and as her sleeves. She had a clip and some scrunching at her waistline where the dress hung down gently. It twirled around her legs with every move of her hips. He couldn't help it, before they got to the door he bent down to kiss her, running one hand through her curls and laughing when he saw her smiling face. 

"Come along, Query and Echo may not be here, but you can meet the Marks. They'll know to leave you alone in any future plans." She placed one hand in his as he typed in the code to enter the door. They entered to a small group of people sitting around a large table filled with the stolen items from the night, they all turned and greeted Riddler with smiles.  

* * *

  
"Hello Miss Hernandez, it's good to see you return."

"I want to face my fears Dr. Crane. I think I'm ready for your serum."

A slow smile spread across his face, "That's delightful to hear." He strapped her to a chair and almost glided across the room to pick up a syringe will with an almost green fluid. He turned towards her, looking at the beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead, the way her hands gripped the armrests, she kept shifting almost as if she were trying to remove her legs from the straps. "The straps are for both our safeties. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself or try to attack me." He walked towards her with the syringe, looking at the crook of her elbow and finding a vein.

He looked her in the eyes as he stuck the needle inside and hit the plunger. Her eyes were like sard, he could see the hints of different shades of brown in there as he watched her pupils dilate. Her breath kept hitching in her throat, she was seeing something. He walked around her, observing how she kept trying to pull her arms up, her legs kept twitching as well, and she was now whimpering in fear. He stood at her back, watching her neck start to sweat before he completed his circle and looked at her face, she was biting her lip, her eyes squeezed closed, and kept flinching trying so hard to stay quiet. Her head suddenly jerked to the side, her eyes snapped open and she started to scream. She screamed and thrashed around as much as she could with the straps holding her down. He stood in front of her, arms crossed behind his back watching as she screamed herself hoarse. She suddenly went slack and he grabbed his stethoscope, listening to her heartbeat. He lifted one eyelid and shined a light over the pupils, checking for a response. She had passed out from the terror. He walked back over to his table and picked up another syringe, plunging this one into her and sat back in his chair writing down her reactions while waiting for her to come to.

As her eyelids fluttered open he looked up from his notebook. "Do you remember what you saw Miss Hernandez?"

She gave a weak cough and tried to move. "There was so much blood and the lights were so bright." She kept twitching one arm, he wrote that down in his notebook, noting it was the one with the most defensive scars on it before closing the book and standing up. 

He walked over to her, picking up a glass of water he had sitting out and having her drink before unlatching her arms and legs. "Do you know where you were? Where the blood came from?"

She shook her head, her eyes still slightly unfocused as she looked up at him. "There was so much blood and pain. I think it was mine." She stood up on shaky legs, walking towards the table he put the water back on. She picked it up and drained it in moments.

"We can end the session for now. All you seem to remember are bits and pieces. I'll need to work on my formula some more." He turned and looked down at her, she found him so imposing. Those ice like eyes staring down at her like she was just a bug ready to be pinned to the board. She gave a small nod and left his office. He looked out the window and watched her hurriedly walk out of the warehouse. 

* * *

  
Audrina heard someone climbing upon her window. They stumbled, they weren't anywhere near as graceful as Harley. She grabbed her baseball bat and swung when get got through only managed a squeak of fear when her bat was caught by the man that climbed through her window.

"Audrina, it's Edward. Please try to calm down." She gave a quick nod and he sighed with relief as he let go of the bat. She ran forward to catch him as he collapsed. "Fought against Batman, managed to get away but I can't make it all the way back home."

She sat him down on her armchair and quickly closed the window and drew the curtains shut. "It's alright hun. I'll take care of you. Are you hurt? You sound hurt."

"Not all of the blood is mine, one of the Marks fell into a rotating blade right next to me. That was disgusting. I do think I need stitches though." He hissed as he tried to stand up. She rushed over to him and had him lean against her before she guided him through her sewing room into the guest bathroom.

She sat him down and turned on the light. She covered her mouth in horror as she saw just how much blood was on him. "H-how much is yours?" He gave a groan as he shifted and she snapped out of her horror, moving to remove his suit jacket and everything on his top half. Her hands shook when she realized there was a long cut going through his coat, his tie was cut in half, and even his button down and undershirt were cut. The long but slowly bleeding wound made her want to cry. She instead turned and grabbed her whole first aid kit. She took out the peroxide and just poured it on a cotton ball before dabbing at it. He gave a hiss and she winced in response before continuing to clean out the wound. Once it had stopped bubbling she pulled out a roll of gauze and started to cover it.

She then moved onto the smaller cuts on him that only needed to be cleaned out and gulped while looking at the still growing blood stain on his pant leg. She looked up at his pale and now sweating face, rolled her shoulders back, grabbed a towel and mostly carried him to the futon in her sewing room. She tried to lie him down as gracefully as she could but at that point he just flopped down. "Alright Audrina, there's nothing wrong with undressing him further. You need to see, clean, and possibly sew shut the wound on his leg. It's fine, you're fine." With shaking hands she pulled his shoes and socks off, lifted the sticky material off of the wound and then unbuckled his pants and lifting his hips up, slid his slacks off of his legs.

She grimaced at the wound. While the one on his chest looked bad at first but turned out not to be, this was deep and looked like something curved had sliced him. She applied peroxide to clean it and used tweezers to pull a few pieces of fiber from his pants while scrubbing the wound. She took a few breaths before sterilizing a needle and grabbing some thread. "I am so so sorry Edward." She pressed one hand on his hip to hold him down and quickly started to sew it shut. He gave a shout and tried to jump up, taking a moment before realizing what she was doing. When she finished she tied it off and cut the string.

The two of them just stared at eachother before he spoke. "You- you actually helped me." He seemed shocked, green eyes wide and puzzled. "I thought you would, but you actually cleaned my wounds and sewed me up?" She gave a quiet nod, not looking at him as she wiped the drying blood from his wounds.

"Can- can you walk? I felt time was of the essence so I dumped you where my kits where, but the bed is on the other side of the apartment." She nodded and just sat there next to him, trying to calm herself down.

"I should be able to." He slowly stood up and she blushed and quickly stood up upon realizing what her head was level with while kneeling. She slung an arm over her shoulders and they slowly walked over to her bedroom. The covers were still thrown back from her waking at the sounds of her apartment being broken into. She sat him down and pushed him gently onto the bed before tossing the covers back over him. He gave an exhausted yet crooked smile, "So this is what it takes to get into your bed." She gave a soft chuckle as he was asleep the moment he finished his sentence.

Audrina walked over to her closet, moved her privacy screen so the bed was hidden from view and changed her nightgown for one not covered in blood before putting a dressing gown on over it. Carrying the gown she walked back and collected all of Edwards bloody clothes and proceeded to repair and clean his clothes as best she could, hanging them up in the livingroom to dry. When she finished that she grabbed a blanket from her closet and laid on top of the bed next to him before falling asleep.

When she awoke he was still asleep, so she went to the kitchen and started to cook. When she finished she grabbed a table tray, filled it with the food, water, juice, and brought it over to the bedroom. She laid the tray down on the vanity before walking over to him and checking his temp. He felt alright, and started to stir when she touched his face. She gave a soft smile as he opened his eyes. "Hello sleepy head, ready for breakfast?" He gave a tired nod and slowly pushed himself up. She looked away from his bare bandaged chest and grabbed his food. "I wasn't sure if you wanted light foods or to carb up after a night out like I assume you had so I made a small mix of things. There's also water and juice as well, and I'm going to check to see if your clothes dried from where I hung them up." She quickly turned and walked out of the room while Edward chuckled to himself.

He looked at the foods before him and looked down at the now blood covered sheets and the dried blood still sticking to him. He quickly ate and drank down the juice before deciding to get up to use her shower. He walked in the bathroom, noting the hairbrush, toothbrush, and toothpaste all lined up in a row. He looked and saw she had pumpkin scented hand soap, he gave a smile to himself wondering what Jonathan would think. He looked over to the side and saw her makeup products all lines up in order of use. He stripped off his boxers and climbed into the shower, using her rose scented body soap to wash the blood off. He also took the time to look at the stitching she'd done. He was surprised at how small they were for how quick she worked on him. Once he was satisfied the blood and sweat was off of him he climbed out and grabbed a towel to dry off with and wrapped it around his waist, making sure to pick up the boxers.

He strolled out of the bathroom with a smirk as Audrina blushed and looked over his shoulder when she walked in. "It's good to see you're doing better Edward. I've got your clothes fixed and cleaned here. I'm not sure I could save the tie though, it's silk and I'm not that good of a seamstress plus half of it is missing, so instead I made a new satin one with a maze design on it." She held out a pile of folded clothes and looked up at the ceiling instead of his naked chest.

Edward walked over to her and took the clothes from her hands, she moved to leave the room but he tossed them onto the bed and grabbed her arm. "Audrina." She turned towards him, her tan skin showing so much red as she tried not to look at him. He took a step towards her, she couldn't back away with his hand holding her she tried to pull back but he pulled her closer. He quickly grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for a kiss. She responded and he moved his hands to her back, pressing her closer as he kissed her deeper. He felt part of him hardening at the thought of being able to fluster her so much. She made a squeak sound and quickly pushed him off of her, he let go in confusion. She stumbled and fell to the ground, looking up at him with panicked eyes.

"Too much! I'm sorry Edward, but that's too much for me right now." Her breath was quick and she scrambled to get to her feet. "I'll be in the living room, please feel free to join me once you are fully clothed." With that she practically ran out of the room, tears starting to run down her face.

"Stupid! She wasn't comfortable from the start and I decided to manhandle her? What am I an idiot?" He growled to himself in frustration. He gave a huff and sat down on her bed. He looked at the pile of clothes next to him, sighed and grabbing his boxers again got dressed. "What do you see when you look up the definition of the word idiot? Stupid person, which I am apparently!" He stood in front of the door. "Let's hope she can forgive me." He shook his head and ran his fingers through his red hair that had fallen in his face. "I pushed too far and I knew it."

He opened the door and walked over to where Audrina was curled up on the couch. He paused to look at her, her face was blotchy and red from crying, her knees were pulled up under her chin with her nightgown covering them and she had her dressing robe pulled tightly over her. He walked over to the couch opposite her and sat down. Her dark eyes flickered up to meet his and she slowly uncurled. "Audrina. I am truly sorry. I pushed you too far, and the worst part about it is that I knew I was on the line and stepped over it anyway. I thank you for helping me last night and will let you get on with your day." He stood up and by this point she was sitting straight up, arms still around her but not curled up in a ball. "I understand if I've lost your trust." He picked up his cane from where she rested it against the fireplace and put both hands on it, spinning it slightly as he fidgeted. "I let my emotions get away with me. I'm sorry." He turned and opened the balcony door, stepping outside to see the overcast clouds and smelling the rain.

"Wait." She spoke so softly he almost missed it. "I'm broken, we both know that." One of her hands traced the scar on her collarbone. With the lower cut clothing he could see it extended further than just a stab. "I enjoyed the kiss, but next time-" She gripped the collar of her nightgown and looked at his tie rather than up at him. "Next time, if I start to push away please stop. I'm still getting used to the idea of being in control over my body. I shouldn't have freaked out so much, but please don't push again." She looked up at him finally and gave a weak smile. "I do want this to continue, but slowly." 


	4. To always help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrina learns how to better stand up for herself, and Edward proves what he will do to help her.  
> Yeah that summery sucks. I'm still new at this thing.

Audrina turned onto the street of her apartment building, her two friends Edward and Harley leaning against a column in wait. Harley looked exhausted, her make-up smudged, dried blood right by her lip. Edward looked as if he was trying to hide his rage. The sight made her pause for a moment in fear. Memories of her husband's rage flashed through her head before she took a breath. "He's angry for her, not at. Calm down Audrina." After a few repeats and breaths she jogged up to the two. "Harleen! Edward, what happened?"

Harley shrunk in on herself even more, now that Audrina was closer she could see that Harley's costume was ripped up, bloody, and covered in rubble in some spots. Edward stepped forward and swung his cane around, "He left her for dead again! Threw her out a window because she captured Batman when he couldn't!" His loud voice carried across the street and made people notice the two Rouges. Some ran away while a few pulled out their phones. "Maybe we should go inside your domicile Audrina?" She nodded as she ushered the two of them in, her arm around Harley's waist to compensate for the limp.

"I didn't get the joke. It was my fault he hurt me." Harley finally spoke when they got inside Audrina's apartment. "It looks more put together than last time I was here." Audrina smiled as she put some water on the stove to boil. Edward walked over to the bathroom and returned with a bowl of water and a wash cloth. Harley sat down at the small breakfast nook and started washing the make-up and blood off of her face.

"I've got some healing creams Pamela left for me in the medicine cabinet, let me get those for you along with something for you to change into. After that we can check out that ankle, alright?" She knelt beside her friend, "Do you also want a shower to feel clean? You could even soak in the bathtub if you need to." Harley nodded as she wiped the last of the make-up off her face. "Hey, there's Harleen again." Aurdina pushed a stray lock of blonde hair behind Harley's ear. Harley's blue eyes started to water up. Edward looked uncomfortable at the start of tears and started to make some tea at the sound of the water boiling. He poured three cups of steaming mint tea while Audrina continued to comfort Harley. He stood there stirring the teas until Harley's sobbing stopped. When it did Audrina half carried her over to the private bath. When she came back into the room she took a cup of tea with a smile.

Before either of them could talk there was a knock at the door. "Could that be one of Harleen's friends?" Audrina asked as she walked to the front door. She stood on her tiptoes and looked through the peephole. "Oh, it's Batman." Edward looked around, and upon seeing there was no place to hide other than a bedroom he sat down on one of Audrina's couches with a graceful haste that made her bite back a smile. She then opened the door for the caped crusader. "Can I help you with something Mr. Batman?"

He looked a bit surprised at the polite greeting. "It's you again." He then quickly hid his confusion. "I've been informed both The Riddler and Harley Quinn are here. Are you being held hostage ma'am?" A young looking boy about 10 or 11 looked around Batman.

"There's the Riddler!" He shouted as he started to run in the apartment. Audrina stopped him with a hand slamming on the top of his head and holding him firmly in place just before Batman put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's impolite to enter a ladies house without express permission. He," She lifted her hand and pointed at the now smug redhead still drinking his tea, "has my permission. Along with my friend Harleen. She has had a rather difficult day and you two may only enter if you promise not to make it any worse." With those words she backed up to let the two in. Edward motioned to the couch opposite him with his cane. "Edward, could you be a dear and make some more tea for our guests?" His usual broad cocky smile was instead a small one that reached his eyes.

"Why of course, my sweet Audrina." They both paused as Robin pouted and crossed his arms. "Unless the Boy Wonder would prefer hot chocolate?"

Robin looked at Batman who nodded, he gave the two waiting a nod in response. "Marshmallows please."

Audrina gave a bright smile at the 2 men and boy, "See? That wasn't so hard. Now you two sit down." She sat next to where Edward had previously been sitting. "I'm sure you could bring Harleen in for kidnapping you Mr. Batman, but she had done it in hopes of impressing her beau. However horrid the man is she is in love with him."

Batman gave a nod as he accepted the drink from Riddler. He hid his smirk behind his cup when Robin tried asking for more marshmallows and they motioned between each other numbers to agree on. "Harleen Quinnzel was a remarkably bright young woman. Harley Quinn still is except for when the Joker is involved. I would be very worried the day she decides to strike out on her own."

The Riddler gave a silent nod before drinking his tea. "She is one of the brighter villains here in Gotham. Though perhaps she could join us instead of hovering behind the door?" He tilted his head to the side to peer around Batman's head.

Audrina quickly stood up, swept around them and walked into the other room, before returning with some folded up clothes. "My apologies Harleen. I had forgotten about our size differences, my clothes are too large and short for you! I have some handmade clothes that should fit you here." The two women shared a smile as Harley took the clothes and closed the door.

A few moments later Harley limped out in a fitted sundress with her hair down and no make-up for once. "Thanks Audrina, I also forgot that I'm a lot taller and thinner than you." She looked at her hands sadly before looking over at Batman. "I get it, you need to take me in. Right bats?" Audrina handed her a cup of tea and sat her down next to Edward, he reached down and picked up her legs placing them on his lap so he could examine and wrap her purple ankle. "I just hoped this time, I could impress my Mista J. I love him so much but I never seem to do enough for him."

There was a knock at the door again and a confused Audrina went to the door, checking the peephole and opening the door. "Hello Nuan! It's a pleasure to see you." She opened the door and the smaller woman walked in.

"Hello, I heard Miss Quinn was hurt. Here, food to help?" She held out a plate of cookies and they sat down on the seats, Nuan sitting next to Harley. "You helped save me. I can make you happy." She patted Harley on the shoulder and Harley smiled as she ate the cookie.

Edward looked over Audrina's neighbor realizing this was the one whose husband threatened them with a gun. "Nuan? Do you like riddles?" She looked at him a bit confused and scared as Batman sighed and Robin groaned. "我 常常 从 你 身 边 经过，你 却 看 不 到 我，也 摸 不 着 我。小 草 见 我 弯 腰，花儿 见 我 点 头，小 树 见 我 招 手，云朵 随 我 跳舞，小 朋友， 请 你 猜猜，我 是 谁?" Audrina smiled at him as he spoke, just loving how intelligent he was. Nuan gave a laugh.

"風" She looked at the three who did not speak the language. "I am impressed Mr. Riddler, but such easy riddle?"

"It was just a small test. Edward Nygma, pleasure to make your aquaintence. Perhaps we could brush up on our languages together."

"Nuan Zhou, and it would be more helpful to you using my native language than for me. I hope you treat Audrina right." He smiled at the way she paused to make sure she pronounced the name correctly.

Batman finished his tea and placed it on the table. "Harley, I'm going to let you go. Just don't get in trouble while Joker's locked up. You need to realize how harmful he is to you. I can see how much being able to help others is helping you. Don't throw it away for the Joker, please." He stood up and Robin followed after him.

Audrina smiled at the three people left in her apartment. "Well that went much better than expected. I'm glad he didn't take either of you away." She stood up and picked up the two mugs on the table, taking them into the sink. "Nuan, would you like anything to drink?"

Nuan stood up and followed Audrina, "No thank you. I just wanted to help Miss Quinn. You, her, and Batman changed my life for the better."

"Speaking of that, we're in different departments, are things going well for you at work?" Audrina leaned against the counter, "I've heard you've been very busy with the new building being build in South Korea and you've been very busy as the only Korean translator around."

"I am very glad my mother made me learn all the languages near our homeland. I have been very busy and they treat me very well. My English has even been improving." Nuan was almost bouncing on her feet. Harley and Edward were smiling at the sight of the two neighbors catching up. "I must go though, Mr. Wayne is having dinner with one of the directors from Japan and needs me to translate, so I must get ready."

Audrina smiled as she walked with her to the door. "Well I hope it all goes well tonight!" After Nuan left she deadbolted the door and walked back to where Harley and Edward were sitting. She gave a smile at seeing Edward massaging Harley's ankles and feet. "Harley, do you need to stay here for a few days?"

"If this place doesn't suffice, Query and Echo are out of town this week. They don't mind when you use their room." Edward spoke up.

Harley gave a small laugh and laid her head down in Audrina's lap. "I have so many friends! I'll probably need to stay tonight unless I can get a ride to Red's, but she told me to go to her the next time I'm away from Mista J." She gave a small heartbroken sigh. "I thought he'd be proud that I caught Batman for him, but he wasn't."

"One moment Harley." Audrina lifted her head off her lap and walked off towards the bedroom, she returned with a wide tooth comb and a brush, then retook her seat. She started brushing Harley's still wet hair with the wide tooth comb then taking the regular brush to it after the tangles & knots had gotten out.

Harley gave a sigh. "I feel so pampered right now guys. Thank you." She gave a giggle, "Custom clothes, foot rub, and having my hair brushed for me. I'm almost a princess!"

Edward shook his head and gave a short laugh. "Well, you are lying on the Crown Prince of Puzzles."

"Darling I think you need someone to crown you first before you add that to your title of Prince of Puzzles." Audrina replied in a dry tone that made Harley laugh.

"Ah!" He gave a mock gasp and splayed one hand over his chest. "You wound me so!" He paused, looking serious for a moment before looking over at Audrina. "Speaking of, people have no seen you with us and commonly around Bruce Wayne as one of his translators. I think once Harley heals up we need to teach you some basic self defense. You might not always have your baseball bat or your taser."

Audrina gave a nod. "I can understand that hun."

"You also need to learn how to swing that bat properly. If a half passed out man could take it out of your hands you need to learn a lot more about a baseball bat."

"In my defense dear, it was the first time I actually used a baseball bat."

* * *

  
The store clerk gave her a leering grin, "Are you sure a little lady such as yourself needs a punching bag? I mean that might scare off some men." He pointed towards the treadmills, "I'm sure those are more like what you would want, it'll help you lose some weight and you could get all the men."

Audrina bristled and looked up at him. "Well if a man is so unsure of his masculinity that the mere presence of exercise equipment makes him unable to be around me, he's not my kind of man." The clerk gaped at her like a fish while she looked between several bags. "I'd like this one, delivered please. It's obviously a two person carry." She looked up at hm with her arms crossed. "I'd like to purchase it now please." Her eyes narrowed at the man still standing there and she raised her voice, "Or do we need to get a manager who isn't a sexist idiot?"

Her voice carried along the door and a tall man came hurrying over to the two standing there. "Excuse me miss, what seems to be the issue?" He gave a charming grin down at her, hoping to settle things down.

She just stared impassivly at him, thankful for Pam's lessons in holding her ground, for a moment before looking back at the punching bags next to them all, "I wish to purchase this bag, but your employee seems to find fault in a woman using such equipment." The manager pushed away the first employee with a whisper and grabbed a card from the stand.

"We'll just head to the front counter then. Would you like this delivered?" She gave a nod to him.

* * *

  
"Riddler, you know this can't continue." Batman stepped out of the shadows to walk up to the man.

"I truly do not know what you are talking about Batman."

"Your relationship with Audrea."

"Her name's Audrina!" Riddler shouted as he swung his cane. Batman dodged by taking a jump back.

"She's a law abiding citizen. She tries to protect people. She's already proven how much she wants to protect others. She got a gun to the head. she used her body as a shield between an abusive man and his wide. She tries to help whoever she can. Does she even know you've killed people for getting your riddles wrong?"

"She's helped me wash the blood out of my clothes. She stitched my wounds shut, she's cleaned the blood off of me and helped me heal! She knows what I am!" Riddler kept swinging at Batman who continued dodging and weaving.

"You're bringing out the darkness in her Nigma. Can you bear to see her become like Harley? She's already suffered abuse at the hands of one man. Could you live with yourself being the second?" Batman flipped over Riddler as he ran out of room behind him. "Could you handle being the reason for fear in her eyes?"

Riddler screamed as he swung again, catching Batman in the shoulder and knocking him down. He stood over the bat, placing the question mark on his cane under Batman's chin. "I never have, and never will hurt her as that man did. I do not know if I am capable of love, but she is a light in my soul. Every moment with her feels brighter. She truly believes I am the smartest person in Gotham, she loves me with every ounce she can." He paused and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Did you know she got a punching bag for her place? She told me to take my anger out on that instead of her couch cushions." He chuckled as he stepped back. "I may be a dark person and she follows the law, but we've both found our shades of gray."

"How long until her light is gone though? How long will it be until you've broken her?" Batman stood up and followed Riddler as he paced around. "Did you know she's been visiting other villains? She's become close friends with Harley and Ivy, she sees Scarecrow quite regularly."

"He's her psychiatrist. Of course she sees him."

"He doses her with Fear Toxin during those visits."

Riddlers hands clenched into fists, "YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW? Of course I'm aware. I do not approve, but he's quite content now that he has a willing subject." Riddler turned towards Batman, "It pains me to see her after those sessions. She's always pale and shaking and struggling to breathe, but apparently choosing to face her fears head on makes her feel like she's getting stronger. She's already on lower doses of her anxiety medication." He ran a hand down his face "Batman, riddle me this. What is it that you ought to keep after you have given it to someone else?"

"A promise."

"Promise me this Batman, if I treat her as The Joker treats Harley lock me up far away."

"I will." The two men stared eachother down. Batman held out his hand and Riddler shook it. "If I see you turning her into another Harley Quinn, you will regret everything."

* * *

  
The Riddler paused on her balcony, watching Audrina toss and turn. He could hear shouting from the other apartment. Nuan's was always filled with music now that her husband was gone. The shouting must be causing her sleep to turn into a nightmare. He unlatched the door and stilled as she shot up. He could see a faint purple glow around her, but it must have been a trick of the light. "Hey diddle diddle, I've got for you a riddle." He could see the light fade from her and she sagged in relief.

"What would that riddle be then?" She was struggling to control her breathing, but faked a confident smile for him none the less.

He gave a smile and strolled in, perching himself on her chair, "I have an eye in the middle of me, but as you see, I cannot see. I am dark and not far away. You don't see me every day. I am not night and I am not bright. I can have twists and water and scares. What am I?"

She looked at him and took a few moments. "Would it be a hurricane?" His grin told her all she needed. She softly sang to herself, " _In the eye of a hurricane there is quiet_." She frowned as she thought of a different line from the song. She shook her head and looked at Edward, taking in the full costume and cane. "What brings you here this late Mr. Nygma?"

"I just wanted your presence Miss Hernandez." They gave each other smiles before she gave him a quick peck.

"Well as long as you keep your hands in appropriate places you may spend the night." She blushed as she watched him undress and join her.

* * *

  
"Hello again Miss Hernandez. Do you feel up to facing your fear again today?"

"Yes Dr. Crane. If this can help us figure out how to get past my fears."

"We may find more hidden in your psyche."

"I'm aware of that." There were sounds of someone being strapped down.

"This is a faster acting one than we used last time."

"Okay." She took a deep breath "I'm ready Dr. Crane." There was about a minute of silence before she started whimpering.

"Audrina, what do you see?"

"He's here. He's here and he knows my thoughts have been unfaithful!" There was the sound of someone struggling. "Please! Please David don't hurt me!" She screamed, "I'll be good! I won't tell anyone. **Put the knife down!** I haven't told, I haven't told!"

"What does David not want you to tell?"

_"She's dead!"_

"Who Audrina? Who is dead?"

"I never knew her name!"

"Who is she? Tell me Audrina."

"I _can't_. He's here. He'll know I told you."

"It's just a hallucination. Remember Audrina? You agreed to the fear toxin to fight against your fears."

"You don't understand! He's a cruel man. He's got ears everywhere. I thought I was safe. A different name, a different state, he found me. **He'll rape then cut, then I'll be silent forever!** "

"A different name?" His voice sounded softer, puzzled. "What was your original name?"

"Maria Alvarez." Her breathing quickened "I was born Maria Alvarez, I was adopted Amelia Snow, Amber Snow was a lie, we're not sisters by blood." She started sobbing "I found my birth mother. She had already died but her parents were alive."

"How did you get the name Audrina Hernandez then?"

"Hernandez was her mother's maiden name. Amber suggested Audrina as my new name and I liked it."

"Audrina, do you still see David?"

" _He's shaking his head no._ " Her voice was so quiet it could barely be picked up.

"So he's still here?" There was silence "I see. You do remember that he's not actually here though, correct?"

"I can feel the knife. It's so cold! I hear his laugh. It's such a manic laugh, he's mad. He'll break me!" She sobbed "He knows about Edward. I don't want to see him die too. He knows about all of you! He knows I've slipped about the abuse to Harley! He'll hurt her too! _He knows he knows_ **he knows!** "

"Audrina, take a breath you're getting hysterical."

"Of course I am! He's going to kill him! **He'll kill you all!** I can hear him taunting me."

"I'm going to give you the antidote to the toxin now. If we don't stop you'll hurt yourself with your struggling." There was a moment of silence. "Audrina, what do you remember while under the effects?"

"Everything doctor, just like the last few times." 

"Alright, now that you know David is not in the room, can you tell me who the woman is and how she died?"

"She was a woman he picked up. It was the first time I knew of his infidelity. We were in Vegas for our honeymoon. I wanted to check out the volcano show. I came back early because my eyes were hurting and I left my eye drops in the room. I-I walked in and he grabbed a knife and started stabbing her. I couldn't react, it was all too much. I just curled up and tried to drown out the music and her screams. The screams still haunt me." She was sobbing at this point. "Then he... he made me help stuff her in a dufflebag, said I had brought too much stuff up to the room and carried her to the rental car."

"Audrina, blow your nose and take a moment to compose yourself." There was silence except for breathing. "Alright, carry on."

"Well, we drove to the edge of the city, and he just dumped her body out of the car. Like it was nothing, like she was just trash to be taken out. It was horrible." There was a moment of crying "After that I was completely his to control. He made sure I took my meds and would beat me after. He'd rape me almost nightly, he'd cut me and put pressure bandages over them if he went to deep. All I knew for all those years was pain. He hospitalized me and said I'd taken a bad fall down the stairs." There was a shaky breath and some sobbing. "One time he did throw me down the stairs. It was the second time he took a life."

"Did they believe him? When he said you fell?"

"The first time, the second time they were suspicious but he ordered me to act as if everything were fine. I was high risk to begin with so he made me tell them I had tripped and fallen again and that's- that's why it happened. I bruise easily due to my anemia and he made them think the bruises on my arm was due to that. The third time he hadn't made sure my burns and bruises were healed. They saw what he had done to my collarbone and chest. They called a police officer and he just snapped. He dragged me out of the hospital and as we were leaving he pulled out a knife and started stabbing me right there. The officers came up as that was happening and shot him, he was arrested and they rushed me back into the emergency room. After that it was a blur of pictures, trial, everyone trying to twist it so I was the villain. I suffered in silence for years and was made a villain." She started sobbing, "I wanted to die. I just wanted to escape it all! I tried to die but I couldn't! I couldn't die, I was cursed."

"I'm sorry Audrina, but we will have to continue this at another time. There is a delivery I must take."

"I understand Dr Crane." A door shut.

"Mr. Wayne, what are you listening to?" Alfred set a tray down and handed a cup of coffee to a tired looking Bruce Wayne. The words **_TRANSMISSION PAUSED_** appeared on the screen of the giant computer.

"I planted a listening device in Scarecrows office. I wanted to know why I couldn't find any information on her aside from what was her resume and current information. Everything is sealed by court order." He hit a few buttons,"With all the information she's given I can now find out exactly who she is and how she can slide between helping villains and being a normal citizen."

"Mr. Wayne, don't plenty of citizens work with criminals as well?" Bruce gave Alfred a look. "Also why is this information only coming up now?"

"Before she'd only react to the toxin by screaming or sobbing quietly. By changing to a modified version she could hear Scarecrow and still be in the illusion at the same time." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Her husband's already in jail so I can't get to him about the murder."

"That poor woman though, carrying all that pain." Alfred took a sip of the second cup on the tray, "I can understand why she clings so tightly to those villains though."

"Alfred?"

"They have never hurt her." Alfred leaned over and tapped a few buttons, "From all these pictures and videos where she's been around them, only one has hurt her. Every other time she's rescued by them and pulled out of danger." He tapped another button and it zoomed in on a time she had been used as a hostage. In that photo The Joker and Harley Quinn had kidnapped a few employees of Wayne Industries and they were all sitting in cages with bombs on them. "See here? All the cages are far enough away that one going off doesn't set off the others, her handcuffs are leather instead of metal so she doesn't get hurt being dragged around, and her bomb is a fake."

"Was this one Robin and Batgirl handled?"

"You were dealing with Mr. Freeze at the time."

"Hmm, so they treat her like a civilian but always make sure she's never in any real danger."

"They take her because when there's a group, she always pushes someone else away from the danger. She identifies herself but tries to smooth things out."

"Why have I never noticed this?"

"I believe you've been too busy trying to track down the moment she becomes a villain sir."

"She's involved with too many of them. One day she will become one of them."

"I don't believe so sir."

* * *

  
Audrina was invited to a yacht party by Bruce Wayne, the _lucky_ lotto winner and settled for leaning against the railing and enjoying the feel of the salty air against her face. She was completely bored surrounded by all the models. She wished it could be Edward there with her instead of Bruce, but understood he couldn't and wouldn't do such dull things. Bruce Wayne leaned against the railing next to her and looked at her.

"How's your assimilation into Gotham going? You still seem as distant as that first day you arrived. In fact I think you only talk with your neighbor." He gave a small frown. "Are the other women in your work station still bothering you? I heard them comment on your appearance and weight a few times."

She gazed out into the water once more before moving so her back was to the water and she was facing everyone else on deck. "I still feel as much of an outsider as I did the first few weeks. I'm not sure what about me exactly is pushing away the others in my office, but to be perfectly honest, the conversation they provide among themselves does become stale quite quickly." She gave a playful grin. "You would not believe how often I hear the other women gush on about you and your looks. Plus, I don't care about my weight, it's not affecting my health and I am in shape if on the heavy side."

He laughed at that and returned her grin, "Like you don't feel the same way?"

She leaned back and gave him a quick once over. "Nope, not my type. Sorry." He just blinked back at her, surprised she dismissed him so quickly, but understanding inside she already had her heart set on someone else.

He laughed and placed a hand over his chest. "Oh you heartbreaker."

"Oh don't you know it." She waggled a finger at him with a laugh. They turned away from each other as they heard a scream. They both ran towards the sound and Bruce threw his hand out, catching her in the chest as he peaked around the corner.

"Someone's hijacking the yacht. We need to be cautious right now." He glanced back at her, his expression completely serious. The slight deepening of his voice made the puzzle click together.

She placed an arm on his shoulder, "What we really need is Batman." His eyes widened but he stayed silent. "How about we get their attention and you 'accidentally' get pushed off the boat." She paused and looked at him, those brown eyes narrowing. "You can swim right? And you have a suit?"

He nodded. "Not nearby, but I've already sent out a signal for Robin to meet me with one." He raised his wrist to show his now blinking watch.

"Good, now we have to play the stupid heroic part to get one of them to knock you off the boat." They both ran around the corner and Audrina gave a horror movie worthy scream as she saw the men with gun pointed at the other party members.

"What's going on here?" Bruce shouted as he stepped in front of her.

One of them men smiled through his ski mask. "This was going to be just a robbery, but all these beautiful women? This is going to be fun." Audrina shuddered behind Bruce and made a small push with her hand.

"No! I've already called the police. You won't get away with this!" He rushed towards the man only to be hit in the face with the gun. He fake stumbled to the edge of the yacht and pretended to fall over the edge.

"Mr. Wayne!" She rushed towards the edge, looking over, "Swim to shore! Get help!" and then stepped back to be in front of several of the women. She glanced behind her and saw none of them were hurt, just all scared except for one who looked angry. She looked back towards the men who boarded the boat and tried to summon her courage. "Now look what you've done!" She threw her shoulders back and shoved down that fear and anxiety curling around in her stomach. She just needed time, she just had to hold them off until Batman returned. With no experience in any sort of fighting. She wished she had her taser right now.

One of them men laughed and lunged for her, she threw herself to the side. He ended up stumbling but she smacked her leg right into a chair and hit the ground. She looked back and saw one of the men reaching for one of the more beautiful women. She'd never even caught her name, they didn't even speak the same language, but she had to do something.

"Get away from her!" Audrina shouted, scrambling up to her feet and throwing herself at the man. She got lucky and he was mid-step when she smacked into him. He fell down and she landed hard on top of him, something in her wrist popped painfully. She saw his knife strapped to his belt and it was right in front of her. She was scared but she needed to keep these women safe. She quickly grabbed the knife and looked around for a place to hide it. She couldn't so she stood up and held it out in front of her. "I warn you, I'm armed." The men laughed and formed a half circle around her. The arm holding the knife was shaking and she felt terror running through her. Here she was in a sundress on a yacht, surrounded by beautiful women she needed to keep safe and pirates who she had to keep distracted until Batman arrived. She just hoped she wouldn't die like this.

One of the men lunged towards her and she took a step forwards and slashed across his hand with the knife. He gave a shout and stumbled back. "You bitch! You're going to pay for that!" For what felt like a long time was probably only a minute the pirates took turns lunging at her and she kept dodging and cutting them. Everyone stopped when a gun clicked. She looked right down the barrel. All she could think was this never would have happened with Edward around. This was the leader, he let them play with the mouse but now it was time for the cat to eat.

"Listen here, we are taking you. All of you will cooperate or there will be consequences. Try to be good," He gave a sickening smile, "we don't want to damage the merchandise." She could feel bile rising in her throat when one of the men she'd cut walked up and smacked her then she tasted blood instead. "Of course, this bitch can be a bit damaged. She's earned it." The man knocked her to the ground and a few of them circled her, kicking and stomping as one started to zip tie the other women. Audrina just curled into a ball and shoved her head between her arms to protect it, but one had caught her cheek and fingers with his boot. The one in charge, with the gun just stood there and watched over it all. "We need to go. Someone pick up the purple bitch."

One of them pulled Audrina up by her hair then started to drag her along with him. Only the swaying on the boat kept her grounded. She fought the urge to beg forgiveness and instead she used the moment to look and gave a sigh of relief as she saw the others were unharmed. A pair of strong arms lifted her and she was tossed into a boat next to them. She could feel the bruises on her, something was very wrong and she could feel it as she watched the other women be forced to jump into the boat. The last of the pirates jumped in and it started to drive off.

Another boat sped up next to them and she raised her head as she heard one of them shout in fear. She looked up and saw Batman and Robin in the boat. She hadn't prayed in years but she did now as she crawled over to the other girls; she prayed they'd all make it out safe. One of the girls, a tall and gorgeous woman with black hair and stunning blue eyes lifted and pulled her closer to them. Audrina bit back a whimper of pain, she had to focus. "Do you know how to break out of a zip tie?" The woman nodded and quickly snapped the tie just by turning her hands. Audrina just laid on the floor while the woman quickly broke the ties on the others.

Batman handed the wheel over to Robin as he lept to the other boat and began fighting. Robin motioned for some of them to jump while the men were distracted. The tall model grabbed one of the smaller girls and lept across, snapping a heel but landing inside the speedboat. It didn't even faze her as she jumped back to help another across. Audrina could only gasp as she felt someone lift her up and place a gun against her head. The world seemed to spin around her but she saw a dark figure standing in front of her. It must be Batman.

Everything hurt and she just wanted to close her eyes and embrace the darkness curling in on her vision but she needed to speak. " _Batman, make sure they're safe_." She remembered what Harley taught her, always use your elbows when you can. She fought against the feeling of being in a fog and shoved her elbow into the gut of the man behind her. She ducked as the gun went off and in her turning didn't realize how close to the edge he had pulled her.

She felt cold, surrounded by darkness. She almost wanted to just let the darkness take her but someone pulled her from the water and she felt hands on her. Someone was pressing on her chest. Everything hurt, she started coughing and she felt arms roll her over on her side and she couldn't stop the sound escaping her lips as the hands touched her ribs.

"She needs medical attention!" Someone shouted above her. Audrina couldn't focus, her eyes refused to open, but she had to speak, had to know the answer.

"Did- did they all get out safe?" Her voice sounded raspy, her body hurt so much just talking. 

"Yes my sister, we all are safe. Batman is handcuffing the last of those pirates now and soon we will be on shore." She felt a hand run through her hair, "You were brave. Foolish due to how weak and untrained you are, but brave nonetheless." The woman speaking had an odd accent, one she'd never heard before but it was calming.

Audrina let the darkness take over, satisfied that she had done her part of the plan.


	5. Consequences and Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward learns how Audrina gets hurt and makes a mistake

Audrina laid on her couch, resting while Edward read a book and ran his fingers through her hair. They both jumped when they heard a knocking on the window. Audrina gave a hiss of pain from flexing her abdomen, and Edward gently got up, careful not to hurt her. "Who is it hun?" She asked, unable to see from her spot.

"Hey diddle diddle Batman. What brings you here?" Edward opened the window and Batman slid inside. He was mildly surprised Batman actually knocked on the door, but it was Audrina's apartment and she wasn't a villain or hero.

He nodded to Edward, knowing they were on neutral ground. "I wanted to check on Audrina. She was just released from the hospital a few days ago." He walked over to where she could see him. "Thank you Audrina. I owe you a debt."

She gave him a smile but otherwise didn't move. "I will heal. I'm just glad you trusted me enough to let me distract them." Edward's head whipped over to her. He was hidden by Batman so she missed the anger that filled his face. "I guess now I know what happens when you stand up against villains you don't know." She gave a push with her arms and with a groan managed to sit up. "Just be glad I thought of yelling for you to reach the shore, and you made that phone call to the police."

Edward's eyes narrowed as he stepped towards Batman. The anger seemed to radiate off of the smaller man. "She's hurt because of you? Playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne couldn't stand up against the pirates? One of his workers who was lucky enough to win the office lotto and join you on that boat had to instead!" He grabbed Batman and shoved him. "You are going to kill her one day!"

Audrina gave a raspy cough and got both their attention. "Edward, I couldn't stand there and do nothing, and I did hurt a few of those men."She sounded a bit proud for being able to stand up for others, "Things could have been much worse if someone didn't do something."

Edward knelt down by her and cupped her hands in his, "You could have died. For all your time with us rouges, you are still a civilian. You don't know how to fight, you don't have a mean streak in you. You're just brave and full of love."

She gave a soft smile to him. Batman cleared his throat to get their attention. "Diana also thanks you for helping keep her secret identity secret. Though she is still mad she couldn't hurt those men, but it would have been very odd for Bruce Wayne to know Wonder Woman. She's offered to train you like a true warrior if you ever desire."

"I prefer the sidelines, but thank her for the offer, will you? She's the one that pulled me out of the water right? The really tall and muscled one?" Audrina reached to run her fingers through her hair but stopped with a small whimper. "My ribs are very unhappy right now."

"That's her. If she hadn't been there it would have been harder to save the others." He left it unsaid that Audrina would have died if not for Diana diving in after her. He had been busy with the man she elbowed before falling into the ocean.

Audrina gave a smile, "I recall her just lifting one of them and leaping across as if it was nothing." She really is strong.

Edward frowned, looking between the two of them. "I still don't approve of what happened, but Audrina, If you break me, I'll not stop working. If you can touch me, my work is done. If you lose me, you must find me with a ring soon after."

"Heart?" She looked confused as he grabbed her hands again, then she tucked her head and gave a blushing smile.

"Yes Audrina, please don't break my heart by getting yourself killed. I know you don't want to see bystanders hurt, but there's a difference between helping them and sacrificing yourself." He tilted her head up and gave her a soft kiss. When it ended he got up and turned only to find Batman gone and the window wide open. "He could at least close it." She gave a giggle and then a hiss of pain. "Dear I think it's time for more medication." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Rest, I'll retrieve them for you."

She laid back down on the couch and watched as Edward returned with a pill bottle and some water. "Take, drink. I still can't believe you decided to take on those pirates, but your extremely lucky you only broke a couple ribs, your wrist, and a couple fingers." He ran his hand over her cast as he spoke. "You should have gotten it in green."

She placed the pill in her mouth and took a swing of water. "I was passed out, I didn't get a color choice hun. Plus if they'd given me a green one I know you'd cover it in question marks." She gave him a smile. "That would raise a lot of questions at work."

"More questions than would have been raised by you trying to defend a bunch of models from pirates until Batman arrived?" He raised an eyebrow at her, still giving a disapproving expression.

"I survived. People also would just view that as me being a good citizen, which might help towards actually making friends with some of the people in my office." Edward sat down next to her, his fingers brushing over the bruising on her face, the cast on one arm and the large bruise on the other. "I just want to be accepted. I know you, Harley, Jonathan, and Pam all accept me, but you are also on the fringes of society." Edward just looked at her sadly, now tracing the scars she'd left uncovered. "Edward please, you know I hate those scars." SHe turned her face away, missing the flicker of pain in his eyes.

"They show what you went through. That in your own words, 'you survived'. Audrina, no matter how much you try to shove it down you are a Meta human. Normal people will always sense something off about you, even if they ignore the purple hair." He leaned down towards her and gave her a kiss on the lips. "What did the hangman give his wife for his birthday?"

She gave a tired yawn and looked up at him, "Alright, I'm stumped on that one."

He gave a smile and pulled something out of his pocket. "A choker." He placed the necklace around her neck, making sure to place it on the loosest setting so it hung on her collarbone instead of against her neck. He looked down at her, that purple hair flowing around the pillow, the cast lying over her waist, her loose nightgown showing more scars than usual. He adjusted it to cover her more and lifted up the arm hanging off the side of the couch, placing it under the casted arm. He traced the maze pattern of the choker he gave himself a small smile. "You are mine Audrina. You will be mine forever." He knelt down next to her and picked her up, making sure to move her ribs as little as possible. The he walked her over to her bedroom and placed her on the bed, tossing a blanket over her.

He heard a tapping on the window and looked to see Harley sanding on the balcony. Edward smirked to himself as he opened it. "Perfect timing Harley. Audrina's asleep, but she does need to take more pain medication in 6 hours if she sleeps that long. I have a plan to spring into action. Batman needs to be taught a lesson on how much it hurts seeing someone you care about hospitalized."

"Alrighty Ed, just don't end up in Arkham and don't kill any of the Bat Brats. They're annoying but their kids." Harley walked over and sat next to Audrina on the bed, scrolling through her phone and occasionally texting a few rouges. She looked down at Audrina when she gave a whimper and flinched in her sleep. Harley gave a soft frown and ran her fingers through Audrina's hair, the motion seemed to comfort her. Harley gave a sigh when Scarecrow sent her a picture of Riddler being dragged in handcuffs, he looked to be screaming at Batman. She looked at the next picture attached. Batgirl was unconscious on the floor, her face was bruised and her lip was split, her arm looked broken and there next to her on the ground was Riddlers cane. It was covered in blood.

Harley gave a gasp and covered her mouth as she realized he must have baited and decided to fight whichever one of the Batfamily solved his riddle. She turned towards Audrina and decided she couldn't show her what Ed had done. He'd let his anger get away from him, but Batgirl. She was new, it was obvious anytime they fought she was still learning. It was almost an unspoken rule to go easy on the new Bat Brats.

A few hours later Audrina woke up, hissing in pain as she tried to sit up. Harley reached over and helped her, handing her the medication and some water. Audrina gave a smile and took them both, then looked around and asked the question Harley was dreading. "Where's Edward?"

She couldn't look her in the eye. She hunched her shoulders and looked at the end of the bed where one of Riddlers ties hung off the bedpost. She gave a small smile at his slowly leaving things over. "He didn't like that Batman had you help him out. He wasn't thinking clearly Audrina." Harley flipped around the phone in her hands. "He attacked Batgirl and he's in Arkham."

"How badly hurt is she?" Audrina's voice was shaking and Harley turned as she felt movement on the bed. "Harley. What did he do to her?"

"She's not as bad off as you! The hospital report shows no broken ribs. Just-" Harley gulped as Audrina turned towards her, determined to get the answer. "He bruised her up pretty bad and broke her arm. My guess is he jumped her and got the arm first."

Audrina looked ready to cry. She turned on the spot and started changing out of her dressing gown and into one of her vintage dresses. She held her breath for a moment as she zipped it over purple and green ribs. "Which hospital?"

"Audrina, you can't be serious, it's like 5am! They won't let you in to see her-" Harley stopped when Audrina stepped right up to her, "She's in Gotham General, just like you were before."

"I'm going to see her Harley. This is my fault, he hurt her because I got hurt helping Batman. It's not right." She stormed into the living room, grabbing her low heels and car keys. "You're not stopping me. I need to help her in any way I can." She was out the door before Harley could even speak. When she got to the carpark she was very glad she had an automatic and not a manual, driving with a broken arm was going to be hard to begin with.

She drove straight to Gotham General, walking in and pulling out her phone. "What room?" She walked right past everyone, a woman on a mission until she came to a hallway where she could see a blonde in a Batgirl costume and a tall tanned young man in a costume she couldn't recognize. "That must be Nightwing then." She walked right up to them and stopped right in front of the door.

She looked at both of them, her usually warm eyes determined to get in. "I'm going in and you are not stopping me."

The young man scoffed and leaned against the doorframe. "And why would we let you in?"

She stepped towards him, her head level with his chin and looked straight up at him, "Because I am the reason she is hurt. I got hurt being the distraction until Batman and Robin could arrive. Riddler overreacted and decided an eye for an eye. She is hurt because I got hurt. Now-" She poked her solid chest with her uninjured finger. "You are gong to let me pass."

He frowned and jerked his head towards the door, resuming his spot of leaning up against the wall. The taller woman followed her in. Audrina gave a gasp as she saw the poor girl. She looked so young, still a teenager. Audrina walked up and sat down in the chair next to her, she noticed that even in a hospital gown, they left her cowl on. Her fingers traced over the hand with the unbroken arm. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you have to go through this." She closed her eyes and laid her head on the bed crying.

Bat-Girl gasped as she watched the hand still holding Batgirls hand glow purple and the bruises vanished before her eyes. The woman before her sat up and her eyes were still closed, tears down her face. "I'm so sorry this happened." She turned and walked away without even looking back. As she left Bat-Girl ran out of the room and grabbed Nightwing.

"Dick! You need to see this! That woman, whoever she was. She healed Barbara!" She yanked him into the room and dragged him to see the now waking teen.

"You've gotta be shitting me. Bette, she actually healed Babs?" He looked between the two women, watching Barbra wake up and look at the cast in confusion.

* * *

  
Harley stayed with Audrina while she healed, she followed her to her appointments with Doctor Crane. She took notes for him as he tested Audrina. She sometimes wondered why Audrina would volunteer for this. She asked her once after a session that ended with her passing out from the strain of it all. Audrina simply looked at her and replied, "The more I see my fears, the more I relive those memories- the less power they'll have over me. I don't want to be afraid anymore."

Audrina had one session after work, Harley wasn't able to meet her until part way in. She walked in and saw Audrina strapped in the chair, crying and begging David to stop. She knew Jon hadn't heard her come in because he was standing right in front of Audrina, he was smiling, laughing to himself as he collected her tears in a vial. She stayed by the door and watched him pull her hair out of the bun, Audrina flinched and screamed for David to stop. Harley watched as Jonathan picked up some of Audrina's hair and smelled in.

"Docta Crane?" She had to speak, she didn't want to know if he was touching Audrina in her sessions.

"Hello child. Come over here. You spend much time around Audrina. Her scent actually changes when she's locked in her memories." He brought his nose closer to Audrina's neck and took a long slow wiff. "She's saturated in fear when she remembered David." Harley walked closer and could feel her hair stand on end. "You feel it don't you? The pure amount of fear she has from him. It's almost intoxicating." He gave a low chuckle. "Of course, she did witness him murder someone on their wedding night and became his slave after that." He gave a frown and walked a small circle around her. "This David also raped her constantly. She was owned by him completely." He picked up a syringe and plunged it into Audrina. She passed out and just slumped in the chair, the restraints being the only thing holding her up. "I wonder if her clothing style and submissive attitude were from before or only came about after her years at his beck and call." He rubbed him chin in thought and typed something into the computer.

"Harley, be a dear and start unstrapping her would you? She should be waking up soon. Give her that shake sitting on the desk, it'll help her fatigue and anemia. These sessions can be a strain on her body." She nodded and undid the straps on Audrina, giving her a faked smile when her eyes opened.

"Amber? What are you doing here?" She shook her head and blinked a few times. "Harley. I'm sorry. You look a lot like her."

Jonathan walked over to her. "Did Amber ever help you after David hurt you?" He was interested in the fact that her subconscious thought of her sister across the country instead of her best friend right after a session of memories.

"Once, when I was locked in the house, she wanted help with homework from her big sister. She missed me and actually broke into the house because I was locked in while David was at work." Audrina ran her hand along her jaw, thinking of the scar she always hid with makeup. "She saw what he'd done to me and went to the Bishop. He told her that what happens between a married couple is only between them. He reminded her that David was a member of the priesthood and I-" She paused and collected herself before continuing. "I was just a convert. It was possible I was tempting him to sin, and as long as we honored each other and remained with only each other our marriage was still blessed in the eyes of our heavenly father." Harley lifted her up into a hug. Audrina clung to her while Jonathan walked back to the computer to make some more notes.

* * *

  
Audrina had finally given in, and a year after the first suggestion had a girls night with Harley, Pamela, and Selina. Mostly she had the girls nighT because she felt lonely without Edward around. He'd been in Arkham for almost three months now. For three months she only had work, Harley, and Jonathan. She'd been warned not to visit him in Arkham.

Each girl was sitting around in various pajamas, ranging from the barely covered Harley Quinn to Audrina completely covered with a dressing robe. They were enjoying various alcoholic drinks and playing a rather tame version of truth or dare.

"Alright Selina! Truth or Dare?" Harley clapped her hands in glee. Selina looked her over and gave a smirk.

"Dare me clown."

Harley giggled. "Alright kitty cat, I dare you to..." She looked around the room to think of something. "Oh! I dare you to do a cartwheel on the balcony ledge!"

Audrina gasped, "That's dangerous!" Selina scoffed and gave a laugh.

"Child's play." She then walked over to the balcony, opened the sliding glass door and climbed up to the one inch thick ledge. She held both arms out and backed up to the edge, then did a flip in place, took a step, and did a cartwheel right on the ledge. She then turned and flipped right back onto the balcony. With a smirk she walked in and closed the door.

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Such a show off."

Selina gave a purr and gracefully slipped back into her seat. "Of course. I wanted to show what child's play it was." She gave a smirk and picked up her drink, taking a delicate sip before looking back at Pam. "So, Truth or Dare Poison Ivy?"

She crossed her arms and huffed. "Dare." The two women held a staredown for a moment.

"Alright. Pam, I dare you to kiss Audrina." Selina laughed as Audrina gave a squeak. "Oh don't worry. You're not cheating on your riddle boy. It's truth or dare. He'll either love it or get a laugh out of it."

Ivy smirked to herself as she stood up and sauntered over to Audrina who was wide eyed and had her hands up. "I've never- I mean! I-" Ivy hooked a finger under her jaw and looked her in the eyes. The intense green eyes made Audrina falter for a moment, thinking of Edward's eyes and how she hadn't seen them in three months. " _You're too beautiful to kiss me._ " She whispered. 

"Never." Ivy knelt in front of Audrina and pulled her into a kiss. She had one hand holding the back of Audrina's face and the other on one hand. When Audrina gasped she deepened the kiss then pulled back just as she started to reciprocate. Ivy gave her a smile and walked back to her seat, swaying her hips as she did so and flopping back in her seat and picking up the glass on wine on the side table. "So Audrina truth or dare?" Ivy asked with a smile around her wine. She took a sip as Audrina bit her lip thinking of a decision.

"Truth" Everyone gave a groan. Audrina shrunk in on herself a little bit before shrugging. "I don't trust dares." She touched her lips and looked at Selina, "Yeah, I'm not trusting dares."

"Again?" Ivy pouted, "Fine then I'll just ask interesting questions." She gave a conspirital smile to Harley and Selina. "Audrina, how many sexual partners have you had?"

She choked on her drink for a moment before flushing a bright red. "Um..." Her hands started fiddling with her sleeve, "Promise not to laugh?" The three women nodded. "I've had only one partner."

"Wait a second, I thought you were married before." Harley looked around confused while Ivy looked surprised and Selina looked like the proverbial cat that ate the canary. "You haven't slept with Mistah E?!"

Selina started giggling, "The poor man." She clamped her hands over her mouth to stop the laughter bubbling up. "You don't know what you're missing either." The hands went back around her mouth and she gave little kicks before tucking her feet under her.

"You promised not to laugh Selina." Audrina mumbled from her seat. She looked over at Selina and saw her shoulders still shaking with laughter. Audrina grabbed a pillow and chucked it at her. Selina couldn't hold in the laughter after that.

"I'm a little surprised, the way you two act around eachother I'd have thought you just prefer to dress modestly and were actually-" Ivy made a crude motion that made Harley slap her shoulder while giggling and Selina laugh louder.

Audrina finished her drink and poured herself a whiskey. "I would love to, but I'm afraid." She curled her arms around herself and seemed to shrink in. "I don't have any good experiences with sex. Yes I was married but my husband tore my world view apart on the first day of our honeymoon. I was still a virgin when I watched him-" She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, "Almost every night, he raped me. The only changes were when he decided to strangle me just so I'd react at all." She took a sip of her whiskey and looked up at the three of them. "All I know about sex is pain and fear. It's not something I've ever enjoyed, and I'm afraid of disappointing Edward."

The silence was thick, the three women looking at her in varying degrees of shock and pity. Harley spoke first. "That just means you and Eddy could make good memories!"

Selina took a drink from her martini, "Has Ed even seen you without a top?" Audrina shook her head. "Have you seen him without one?" Audrina nodded, "And?"

"Well he's quite pleasant on the eyes." She gave a smile to the other girls. "I do enjoy watching him walk around without a shirt, apparently he feels my apartment is much to warm." The women all shared a laugh at that. "But we all know he's just showing off."

"But anything beyond that?" Ivy asked.

"Well I have seen him in just his underwear, but I was also sewing him up at the time. Aside from that we sleep next to each other often. I generally try not to look when he's down to his boxers." She gave a blushing smile, "It's a nice feeling waking up in his arms. And I have done some touching down there on him when he asked me, but even though I've given him pleasure a few times I'm afraid of him seeing me in less than a nightgown and he hasn't pushed it."

"Mistah E, always a gentleman." Harley sighed and fluttered her eyelashes. "Well we should start small. Maybe if you were more comfortable with your body you could do more?"

"What do you mean? I like my body, it's a decent size and I fit my clothing well." Audrina looked offended at the comment.

"Perhaps Harls isn't phrasing it right. You're uncomfortable with your skin." Ivy put her hands up quickly, "Which is lovely, but you admitted it you have never shown it, and from what Harley has told me when she's walked in on you, you've got some wonderful lingerie hidden under those clothes."

"They do make me feel quite pretty." Audrina mumbled. "But they don't hide any of my scars." She wrapped her arms around herself, her hands still fiddling with the sleeves, unconsciously pulling them over her hands.

Selina walked over and started stroking the collar of Audrina's robe, "We could start small, only one item off."

Harley jumped, "I have an idea! Strip poker!" Everyone sighed at that. "We could even take pictures and you could send a few to Eddie in Arkham!"

"Oh! Audrina, you've made some clothes, why don't we all try them on and you can show us your favorites?" Ivy suggested instead, completely ignoring Harley's suggestion.

Harley pouted but, "I actually have another dress I designed with Harley in mind Ivy." Audrina replied. "It's a good thing I've made a lot to her measurements, because mine wold not fit any of you." She gave a slightly sad smile, "All of you are so tall, thin, and curvy." She shut her eyes for a moment as she heard David's voice whisper in her ear _'And you're so fat. It's a wonder he likes you.'_

A few hours and a few more drinks later found them all lounging around over the two couches and two chairs. Harley was wearing a deep green corset with a short but sleek skirt that looked as if someone had just sewn large blue rose petals to it. Poison Ivy was wearing the Harley inspired dress that was off shoulder with a red and black bodice that switched just under the chest and continued to a wide skirt with under layers of soft tulle.

Selina had thrown herself across a chair while wearing a black slip covered with a silky dress robe that had intricate beading throughout it making it shimmer with every breath she took. Audrina was in the second chair wearing a green gown with small black question marks sewn around the sleeves and bodice to make a maze design, there was purple ruffling before the gown ended at her ankles.

A shadow moved by the balcony window, he moved closer to see what they were doing. Satisfied that the female villains were sleeping and keeping off the streets of Gotham he leaped away and vanished into the night.

Riddler stepped out from where he was hiding, he knew Batman would check Audrina's apartment after he had broken out with Jervis and Clayface. He pulled himself up the fire escape to the second floor, then climbed onto the edge and thankful for his height, jumped the remaining foot and swung his leg to the edge and pulled himself up. He repeated it one more time and pulled his lock picking kit out of his coat pocket and unlocked the balcony. He stepped into Audrina's bedroom and saw it was empty. He looked around and didn't see her, so he stepped out in the living room. He could see the four beautiful women passed out on the couches and chairs, but he only had eyes for one. A small part of him told him she should have tried that balcony instead, but he loved the thrill of breaking into her bedroom.

His hand hovered over her as he looked at her dress. It was impractical, but it would be perfect if she joined him. The dress just screamed his name, that she was his. He looked at the other three sleeping and decided to lift up Audrina and place her on her bed. He took off his shoes, tie, coat, and hat then climbed on next to her, pulling her close to him before falling asleep.

The next day Ivy woke up first, she looked around and saw Audrina was not where she had fallen asleep, she looked around and saw the bedroom door slightly open. She peeked in and hid a smile with her hand. Riddler was lying asleep on Audrina's bed with her curled up in his arms. She still had her dress inspired by his costume on. They looked adorable to her, she looked around and found Audrina's phone sitting on the kitchen counter. Making sure to stay quiet she walked over to the phone and put the camera up. Harley had woken up and looked at her in confusion. She was about to speak when Ivy put a finger to her lips.

Confused Harley quietly followed Ivy and looked in the doorway. She covered her mouth with her hands so she wouldn't squeal. Ivy was taking pictures and zooming in on the look of contentment on Riddlers face as he pulled Audrina closer and rested his chin on her head. She backed up and silently closed the door. Smiling as she sent the picture to her own phone, she looked up at Harley with a smirk. "Who else should I send this picture to?"

"Well me of course! They look so cute. They could be like the Royalty of Puzzles! Since he calls himself the Prince of Puzzles." Harley hopped up and down in her spot, trying to keep her voice down. The two laughed to themselves and went to the other room to change back into their regular clothes. They cuddled together on the couch waiting for Selena to wake up. She really did look nice in the black gown. "I wonder how long it took Audrina to do all that beadwork on it. She really puts effort into these outfits that just hang in her closet."

"Well maybe she sells them online or something to add to her income? Or she just really likes sewing." Ivy shrugged her shoulders thinking it was none of her business. They both fell back asleep on the couch.

About an hour later Selina woke up and stretched to pop the kinks out of her back. She gave a smirk at Harley and Ivy cuddling on the couch. She turned and didn't see Audrina around and assumed she had moved to the bedroom. She went to the fridge and grabbed some fruit for breakfast, munching on an apple as Audrina exited her bedroom, changed into one of her normal vintage dresses. "Morning."

Audrina gave her a smile. "Good morning Selina. The nightgown looks very nice on you." She opened the fridge and poured herself some orange juice, standing next to Selina. "So, what do we do at this point?"

"You've never had a sleepover?" Selina looked surprised that such a sweet young woman missed out on something every child did.

"I was a foster kid with purple hair, and I was one of the very few Mexicans usually." Audrina deadpanned. "I wasn't very popular at all. As much as I'd love to be on the inside of society, I'm used to the fringes."

"Wow. I guess your new promotion to Bruce Wayne's PA will help you with being part of society. Just remember to assign him some time to spend with Selina Kyle." The two women smirked at each other then laughed.

Their laughter woke up Harley and Ivy. "Where's Eddy?" Harley stood up and looked around herself. Audrina blushed and made a point not to look at the bedroom door. "I woke up and he was cuddling you! I guess he broke out last night."

Ivy walked over to Audrina and picked up her phone, going into the gallery and picking out one of the latest pictures. "There's no denying it. He's here, and you two are adorable together."

Audrina took the phone and stared down at the picture of the two of them cuddling. "See, this is our sleeping together for now. This is something I can handle right now." Ivy walked over and gave her a firm hug.

"Men can be horrible pigs. Thankfully you've chosen one of the alright ones." She ran her fingers through Audrina's hair. "You'll heal, and if you ever need to vent about how horrid he was to you, I'm here for you."

She gave a tearful smile and hugged Ivy back. "Thank you, but I'm getting help. I hope one day I can put what he did behind me but for now I'm taking things one step at a time." As they parted Edward walked out the bedroom in his suit pants, socks, and undershirt.

"Morning ladies." He gave a smirk that widened into a smile as he saw Audrina brighten up and blush at him. He walked right towards her and gave her a kiss, pulling away much to soon in his taste. "I assume last night was ladies night?" He looked over the three others and looked over Selina's gown. "I must say Selina, that is most becoming on you. Maybe you should use that to catch your bat sometime."

She gave a smirk and waved her hand towards Audrina. "This is actually one of her designs. Last night we tried on a few of the outfits she's made. I really do love this one though. How much are you selling it for Audrina?"

She blushed and tucked her face against Edward's chest. "You can keep it if you really like it. I'm proud of the beadwork on that one and I know you'd probably wear the first gown to some sort of party and show off. I mean you're just so beautiful to begin with."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I know some people may not like how I wrote the Bishops response to her abuse, but I was a Latter-Day Saint. My boyfriend was a member of the priesthood. My knee will never be the same because I 'tempted him'. After he dumped me for not wanting an open relationship, the abuse came into light. Some of my 'friends' admitted to seeing the bruises I tried to hide (make up over a black eye hurts like hell btw) but thought I must have deserved it because he was pure and I was just a convert. The brown skinned convert.  
> So I am sorry if it offends anyone, but that was from my own experience. May yours be better.


	6. A visit from family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrina's little sister Amber decides to visit and have fun being a new adult.

Audrina sat up in bed, wondering why she was awoken so suddenly. She looked around, the room was empty and her bedroom door was still shut. A blinking light on her right made her realize what the culprit was, her cell phone. She reached over and unlocked it to see what she had missed. A text from Amber. "Call me when you wake sis. Big news and question for you?" With a few taps she was calling Ambers cell phone.

"Audrina! Mom and Dad are going on vacation next week and instead of leaving me alone at the house they decided I could stay with you!" A chipper voice stated after just one ring.

"Wait, what?" Audrina's voice was thick with sleep, but still confused as she rubbed her eyes.

"Well-" she could hear the hesitance in her sister's voice, "if that's like okay with you? They said I had to ask. Since you do live on your own, far away from everyone, and not under the rule of our parents."

"You want some 18 year old freedom don't you?" Audrina sighed into the phone.

"Yes, yes I do! I'm not even sure if I'll be able to move out of state for college and I can't go to BYU!" Ambers voice dropped even quieter, "I don't want to be the good little girl. I want to be an average young adult and have fun, do stupid things, I want to taste freedom and even mess up once in a while."

"Well it's fine by me, but I have a few ground rules, and some things you should know and do not tell our parents. I have a boyfriend, of sorts, he likes to drop by unannounced, so don't scream and freak out if a red headed man comes in through the balcony at night-"

"Ooh?" She swore she heard some giggling in there.

"Not like that! We haven't- It's just... easier than taking all the stairs and getting buzzed in, and he has a flair for the dramatics. Also a blonde woman may break in occasionally. That's my friend Harleen. She also has that same flair. If our parents are concerned about you being alone while I'm at work, you can tell them that two of my friends Pamela and Harleen have offered to show you around town and even show you the university while I'm busy. They're both graduates from there with P.H.Ds, so that will satisfy some curiosity from them." Audrina sat up in bed and ran her fingers through her hair, thinking she might need to do an olive oil treatment soon.

"Wow. Did you come up with all of that just now?"

"A few of my friends have taught me the art of BSing, and most of it is true. Now could you tell me why you were hovering by the phone at-" Audrina paused to look at the time, "5am your time?"

"Well, there's some things I would like you to buy."

"Such as?"

"Shorts and tank tops? It'll be summer! I know it'll only be a week, but I want to break free from who I am during that short time. Maybe the taste at another life will either give me the courage to move away or make me want to be the perfect devout daughter again."

Audrina gave a sigh and shook her head. "Alright, I'll get you a couple pairs of clothes. After that we can go shopping when you come over. Or I'll send you with Harleen. She'll show you the 'wild side'. I'm afraid that clothing wise, I've shut myself tighter than before."

"Oh yeah, after the whole-"

Audrina cut her off before she could finish. "That chapter is closed. He's in jail and I was granted a divorce."

"Alright sis. Thanks. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, I love you Amber."

"Love you too." Audrina hung up the phone and flopped back into her bed. "My little sister is going to end up meeting the Gotham Rogues. It's either going to go well or horrible." She got up and decided to start getting ready for her day. She had a few meetings to attend with Mr. Wayne and had to remember to ask about some time off so she wasn't just leaving her sister to the wolves, or actually to the Rogues. 

* * *

  
Audrina awoke to see the Riddler climbing up into her balcony. She pulled the dressing gown off her chair and unlocked it to let him in as she wrapped it around herself. "I don't like my locks being picked so often. I fear I'll have to replace them sometime." She gave a soft smile as he strolled in. He walked up to her and gave her a deep kiss.

"Tonight was very good, I just finished laying down a trap for Batman. It will be brilliant!" He puffed out his chest and gave a smug grin. "The best part is I won't even have to be there to watch it unfold!"

"That's good hun. I do have something you need to know about." She took his hands and sat him down on her chair. "My little sister is visiting for the week. She's decided to try branching out and experiencing life as a normal 18 year old during the week." She gave a small giggle. "I'm sure Harley will be a big help with that while I'm working."

He shook his head and gave a laugh, "Let me guess, she wants a week on the 'wild side' and asked you to help her?"

She ran her hands over his chest and laughed with him as she undid his tie. "I told her I'd be working a lot, but I think I'll surprise her with a night out. Maybe I'll see if Mr. Cobblepot is hosting any events. I will be making sure she gets an underage band there at the bar though. I don't want anyone to get her drunk and take her away. She deserves better for her first time."

"She's 18 isn't she? I doubt she's completely inexperienced." He took his jacket off and laid it on her chair while standing up.

"Our parents are very strict. I believe she's kissed and even that I doubt." She leaned up to give him a kiss as she moved his suspenders. "I know she wants to experience a lot of firsts while she's here and I would not be surprised if she tries to extend her stay. So I think I need to finally get around to getting a bed for that guest room. Maybe a full incase she does find someone to take home for the night."

"Already trying to set her up with someone?" He gave a grin as he slid her dressing gown off her shoulders, letting it pool at their feet.

"There's a very small list of people I would trust with her physically. Even then I'm not sure and it would depend on them, so I'll keep my cards close this time." She gave a smile and slid into bed. He removed the rest of his clothes. Leaving him in just boxers and carefully hung his suit up for later before he slid into the bed next to her and pulled her against his chest.

She clung close to him, her purple hair fanning out across his pale chest while her hand traced over his shoulder and arm. "Goodnight hun. I understand if you leave before I wake." He just kissed the top of her head and they both fell asleep.

Just a few days later she found herself at the airport with Harley, who decided to 'disguise' herself with a high ponytail and large sunglasses. Audrina perked up when she saw her sister and dragged Harley along to meet her.

"Amber!" She waved her hands and a blond haired green eyed young woman ran up and wrapped Audrina in a tight hug after dropping her carry on bag. When they released Audrina held her at arms length, "You've grown up so much! It's weird seeing how much you changed in just a couple years."

Amber gave a wide smile that almost made her eyes sparkle, "So? Introduce me to your friend and let's get out of here!" She leaned over and picked up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.

"Harley, this is my little sister Amber. She's hoping to use this week to experience the 'wild side' of life." Audrina picked up Ambers bag and the three of them started walking. "I will be working part of the week, so I really did mean it when I said one of my friends would be around while I was gone. They could show you around Gotham or even just keep you company so you're not trapped in my tv-less apartment." Harley shook hands with Amber as they got to Audrina's car. "Thankfully Mr. Wayne is very understanding and gave me a few extra days off this week. I'll just have to spend an hour or two catching up on work online."

Harley leaned forward in the car, hanging over Amber's shoulder. "So, how wild are we talking?"

Audrina raised an eyebrow at Harley while Amber answered, "I have no clue! I do want to actually hang out in the mall or even try a club, I'd love to try alcohol but I'm only 18, and maybe even kiss a guy or something more."

Harley laughed and sat back in her seat after Audrina reached back and pushed her. "Clicking in! Okay, well I can definitely help you with a lot of stuff." She tapped her lips with a finger, "We could even do shopping now since Audrina's got today off to pick you up. I'm sure we could even go clubbing sometime."

"Count me out of that one." Audrina replied as she took a turn towards the nearest mall. "Clubs aren't really my scene."

Amber gave a giggle, "No, that's the library for you!"

"Now it's the bar, nice and quiet but still around people." They pulled into the parking lot and all three women climbed out of the car. Audrina turned towards Amber and Harley, "Alright, let's have Harley lead the way. Amber, I've got your purchases so don't worry about price, just get what makes you feel good."

Amber clapped her hands but looked down at the outfit she was wearing to begin with. "Alright, but is there anything to change into? I feel like I'm heading to Sunday School to teach."

Audrina gave a laugh, "I forgot how much you really hate those dresses and skirts. I did bring a pair of shorts and tanktop in the back of the car. You can climb in and change while Harley and I keep watch outside." She leaned against the car as Amber climbed in, grabbing the clothes to change into.

Harley was sitting on the back bumped and looked over at Audrina. "I never took it very seriously when you said she looked so much like me. It really is surprising. I mean our noses and lips even match!" Audrina gave a smile and looked over at her little sister who was pulling her short heels back on and climbing out of the car. Harley walked up to her and looked her over. "It's surprising how similar we look. A few times your sis has even called me by your name."

Amber leaned in towards Harley as well. "Except I've got freckles and you don't!" Harley laughed and after poking Amber in the cheek tossed an arm around her waist and one around Audrina's shoulders and the three of them walked into the mall. 

* * *

  
Amber climbed out of bed and walked through the living room, not caring that she was in just a cami and shorts, until she saw the tall half-naked man sipping coffee in the kitchen. She just gaped at him while he calmly looked her over while leaning against the counter. She looked over his lean muscles and scarred body, before being caught in the intense green gaze.

"Hey diddle diddle, time for a riddle."

Amber clapped her hands and jumped in recognition. "Oh you're Edward! Mr. Nygma! I love the play on words you did with your name. Enygma! It's a fake name, right? I mean if it's not it's pretty darn prophetic but I love it!" He looked at her in surprise.

"Did you still want the riddle?" He looked confused and kept glancing back at Audrina's door as if he expected her to jump out and claim it was planned.

"Of course! I'm just gushing at how I just figured out Audrina wasn't being sly when she'd talk about Mr. E. Nygma." She bounced and clapped her hands. She blushed when she realized by the movements of his eyes that she'd forgotten to put some support over certain assets.

"Even if you give it to someone else, you still have to keep it." He moved to sit out on the sofa, stretching out and obviously enjoying the way her eyes kept trailing over his body.

"Would it be your name?" He could tell she was having trouble focusing from the slight glaze her eyes kept getting. He leaned back and just shook a finger at her. She turned away to grab juice from the fridge. "Oh! Your word?" She poured her drink and stood awkwardly in the kitchen unsure of what to do. With a smirk on his lips he pointed to the seat across from him. "I'm sorry I'm being so awkward, I've never actually seen a man's bare chest before and I can't seem to stop staring." She rubbed her cheeks in hopes of keeping the blushing down to a minimum.

"Well I am a rather fine specimen, so think of it as viewing a piece of art." He sprawled over the sofa with that cocky grin that kept making Amber feel warmth in her body and below her stomach.

At that moment Audrina exited her bedroom, dressed in a pantsuit and her purple hair in a bun, pressing up her glasses as she tossed some waffles in the toaster. "Or a peacock preening at the zoo."

"It's because they know of their beauty." He called out over the couch to her.

Audrina picked up the waffles as they popped up, giving her hips a quick shake. "If you got it- flaunt it." She gave a laugh after she sang the line complete with the accent, "Alright, I've got work. You two have fun now."

She walked out the door and it was just the two of them in her apartment. Amber chewed on her lip between sips of orange juice. Edward finished his coffee and picked up a book, reading it but holding it away from him so she still received a view of his chest. She slammed down her glass with a loud clink, "Ah, can't you put on a shirt or something? I simply cannot stop staring." She closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her blonde hair, "And that smirk! I have no idea what you are doing to me when you lie there half naked and smirking!" She heard the rustle of his pants as he moved and felt it might be safe to open her eyes.

He stood right before her, her eyes level with his toned abs. "Sweet innocent Amber, if there a curiosity you would like to satisfy?" She gave a nod and reached out, her hand stopping just before touching him. She looked up at with flushed cheeks and wide green eyes.

"Can I touch you"? He gave a nod and sat down next to her. She reached out and started to trace his thin muscles, then moved on to tracing some of his scars. Throughout it all he watched her with an intense gaze, watching how her mouth was slightly open and her tongue flicked out to lick her lips while running her fingers then hands over his chest and shoulders. He decided to take a chance and leaned in to kiss her lips. She gasped and he took that moment to make the chaste kiss deeper with one hand curling in her hair. He smirked at the whimpering sound and how she tried to pull him closer. He pulled away to give her a moment to catch her breath. "That was- wow. Are all kisses like that or are you just really good?"

"I'm just that good." He replied with a smirk before getting up and taking his coffee mug to the sink.

She bit her lip nervously as she tried to calm her racing heart. She didn't understand the warmth flowing through her and the need to repeat that. "Mr. Nygma?" She stood up and watched him turn towards her and lean against the sink. "Could we try some more of that? I don't understand this feeling but all I describe it as is 'want'." He walked towards her and tipped her head up with just one finger under her chin.

"If you want to continue, I may end up being your first for everything." He gave her another kiss that made her just moan into his mouth. He pressed against her so she could feel him hardening and her chest was squished against his, then guided her back and she walked with him until they were in a bedroom. He pushed her down onto the bed and just looked at her while she laid there flushed and gasping for air.

"Wha- was that you I felt against me?" He gave a smirk and decided to drop his sleep pants and showed off everything. With a knowing smirk he sat down next to her and laid down, his hands behind his head.

"You wanted to look and touch right? I'm yours to study." He motioned to his now naked body as Amber knelt next to him on the bed.

She kept reaching out to touch him but would quickly snap her hand back to her chest as if burned. He could see her mind racing and how unsure she was. "I thought you were with Sis?"

She could see the twinge of guilt hit him as he sat up on the bed. She still couldn't keep her eyes off of him but forced herself to look at his face and watch him decide on his words. "We are in a way, but there's never been anything more than kissing. She did mention you wanted to experience some firsts and there was a very short list who she would trust with you. I happen to think that by her leaving you in my care, I'm on that short list."

She gave a nod and reached out to run her hands over him. He tell she wanted to touch more of him but was afraid so he gently grabbed her hand and moved it down to his penis. She put her hand around it and gasped when it twitched. He reached one hand over and started to rub her thigh. She gave a small jump at the first contact, but became emboldened and climbed onto his lap and started to kiss him.

Several hours later Audrina unlocked the door and walked back into her apartment, glad to have a half day. She paused as she heard gasping and moaning. She slipped off her heels to move quietly and walked towards the sound, it was Amber's room. After a moment of hesitation she cracked opened the door and covered her mouth at the erotic sight before her. Edward was lying on the bed with one hand rubbing circles where he was joined together with Amber. She was sitting on top of him arched back, her blonde hair hanging behind her as she kept making sounds of pleasure. There was a moment where her whole body seemed to tighten up and shudder, then he quickly flipped her onto her back and lifted one leg over his shoulder. Audrina held her breath as she watched him thrust so quickly into Amber that she was moaning and gasping and clawing at his back before they both seemed to collapse. It was as if their strings had been cut. He rolled off of her and Audrina quickly closed the door again before they could see her.

Her face was flushed and she felt slightly shamed at being aroused at the sight of her boyfriend and sister having sex. She knew that she should be outraged, but she understood he had needs that couldn't be satisfied with just a hand, plus her sister seemed to enjoy herself and it was with someone she trusted. Audrina fanned herself and headed towards her bathroom to take a cold shower.

Edward walked into her room while Audrina showered. A small part of him felt another twing of guilt. He didn't cheat, there's no lables and he doesn't cheat for answers. He walked into the bathroom and saw a still flushed Audrina drying herself off. She turned and smiled at him. "I suppose you need to shower as well?" He flushed, wondering why he felt guilty. "I did see you two. I understand, you have a normal sex drive." She gave a small frown. "So I do understand you two sleeping together, and it appears she did enjoy herself. A small part of me feels betrayed that my sister slept with you, but you were taunting her and showing off before I left, so that's mostly your fault."

He reached out to her, "Audrina. I didn't think, it was the rush of having so much attention on me and the puzzle of pleasing her." She took a step back but did brush her fingers against his.

"Edward dear, you are covered in sweat. I am clean. Go take a shower."

He gave her a smirk, "But I need your towel." She gave a laugh.

"No deal hun. You wanted to show off, keep it up."

"I do need a towel though!" She just laughed and closed the door on him. He gave a huff and decided to take a shower anyways, deciding maybe he'll just continue to show off to the two sisters.

Audrina finished drying off, got redressed then walked over to the other bedroom, knocking before entering. Amber sat on the bed,her head hung down in shame. "Amber, what's wrong?"

Amber looked up at her. "I slept with your boyfriend. I gave my virginity to another who was taken." She gave a sigh and twirled her fingers. "I'm so sorry Audrina."

Audrina sat next to her sister and pulled her close. "I only 5% blame you sis. Edward is a very attractive man both physically and mentally. I can also understand your curiosity. As long as he did not force you or hurt you I'm alright with this." She walked over to the bathroom and picked up a brush, sitting next to her younger sister and started to brush her hair. "Although part of me does want to ask what it was like. Was it good?"

Amber giggled and turned so Audrina could brush her hair easier. "It was wonderful. Hurt a little bit at first, but he really knows what he's doing." She fanned her face as she began to blush. "I mean, I did not know things could feel that good! He even let me set the pace to begin with and I did not realize just how much a simple hip movement could change things." 

* * *

  
Scarecrow oddly enough decided to visit the next day. Audrina frowned and pulled him towards her. "I'm sure you would love to pick at her brain, but please for me, do not fear gas or toxin her. I want to keep her safe."

He just gave a small smile and a nod in response. He looked surprised when Audrina gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Dr. Crane. I don't want to leave her alone quite yet."

"It's not a problem Miss Hernandez. I'm sure your sister could be quite insightful." He gave a nod as the door clicked shut.

"So shopping day was with Harley Quinn, experimental day was with The Riddler, and what will happen today Doctor Crane?" He turned and saw a young busty blonde who could have passed for Harley Quinn's sister, especially in clothing of a tight camisole that hid nothing and some very short pants. He walked closer to her, observing the way she started to bite her lip in worry as he stood within a foot of her. Green eyes, some light freckles across her face.

"I was hoping for a bit of question and answer with a nice day of reading and relaxing." He raised an eyebrow at the slight blush across her face.

"Oh dear, this isn't going to be like confessions with the Bishop is it? I don't want to feel guilty about yesterday. Audrina didn't seem to mind after she asked me how it felt and she didn't seem mad at Edward even though she did hide the towels and his clothes for a few hours telling him if he wanted to flaunt it all he would have to." Her hands fluttered as she spoke, he could see how nervous she was.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." She sagged in relief, "But I am assuming you slept with Edward, Audrina found out- possibly by seeing you and being the forgiving person she is decided just to have a little fun instead of being angry at you?" Amber finally stopping moving her hands and nodded. "Well unless you plan on repeating yesterdays events, put a bra and some pants on."

He turned and walked towards Audrina's bookcase, missing the impish smile that Amber gave. "But Dr. Crane, what if I want to experiment more?" She almost danced up behind him and hugged him from behind, her hands splaying across his chest as he froze.

"What?" He could feel her heartbeat she was pressed that close to him. He took a few breaths to calm his body's reactions. It had been a long time since he'd felt a woman's touch. "I'm The Scarecrow, the master of fear, a walking embodiment of nightmares and you want to-"

"Play around? Yes." She slid around him, pressing against his front and looking up at him with bright green eyes. "I discovered the wonders of sexual pleasure yesterday and would love a," she started tracing the buttons of his shirt before looking up at him with a coy smile, "remedial lesson? Just to really hammer it in?"

He gave a growl that made her shiver before grabbed her arms with both hands and shoving her against the bookcase. She squeaked in surprise before his claimed her mouth with his. He even bit and tugged at her lip before pulling away. "My lessons are not to be taken lightly young lady." She looked up at him, he could feel her heavy breathing and see how wide her eyes were with lust. "If you desire a continuation, get on your bed." He released her and took a step back, smirking to himself as she practically darted to the bedroom. He would not fear gas her like Audrina asked, but he would make her sister scream.

A while later he sat in Ambers bed while she still caught her breath, he had a small towel over a bite on her shoulder where he'd broken skin. She looked up at him, her body glistening with sweat and satisfaction, he smirked to himself at the marks on her wrists.There was no rope in the apartment, so they made do with his belt. "I really enjoyed that lesson, but wow am I sore all over." He looked down at her, she'd shown excitement and went along with everything he introduced her to, and he very much enjoyed her screams of pleasure.

"Perhaps a bath would relax you and we could have our question and answer time?" She just smiled and gave a nod, wincing as she sat up.

"Oh I hope she has epsom salt near that bath." Amber gingerly walked to the bathroom, Johnathan walking just behind her. He watched as she started the bath and climbed in. He redressed himself and sat on the edge of the tub, his sleeves rolled up and his fingers trailing in the warm water. "So, I'm sure there's something you are just bursting to ask about my big sis. Let's bite."

He gave a chuckle at her directness, "Do you remember the event that caused her to start suppressing her meta-human gene with medications? All she can remember is that it was something only the Lord could do. Something scared her about that day."

Amber gave a giggle. "I remember that day! She saved my life. Well actually she did more that just save it. I don't remember the exact details, but I was five years old and riding my bike and everyone else was on the porch talking and being boring. Well, I never saw the car, but apparently there was blood everywhere and I just remember wondering how I could see my feet so clearly. I remember everyone screaming and crying. They just looked at me and knew I was dying. Well I see Ame- gah, I mean Audrina above my head. She was crying and begging me to live. There was this purple light, the most beautiful thing I'd ever witness and I felt so warm. I thought my heavenly father was taking me away. It turned out she was healing me. She even yanked the handlebars out of my chest apparently and brought me back from deaths embrace." Amber looked down at her knees and smiled. "I remember that day so well because after that I jumped up, grabbed her hand and dragged her to my parents telling them she was going to be my forever sister."

"She was ostracized from the town for saving the life of a small child?" His voice conveyed hints of disbelief.

"I know right? Then everyone got on her about the purple hair but like they all saw what happened." Amber twirled one of her locks of blonde hair staring at it. "I mean, I don't get what the big deal was. They got me back, they discovered the girl they were fostering would do anything to save their daughter, and in my opinion Audrina is blessed."

His fingers traced over her leg as he spoke, "Yet she feels cursed. She's terrified of so much. Especially her ex husband." He trailed off, knowing Amber would react.

She balled her hands into fists and hit the side of the tub. "That rat bastard! I pray to God he gets everything he did and more done to him in jail!" She grit her teeth and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to calm down. He could see her jaw relax and she opened her eyes. They were filled with hate. "He tried to break my big sister. Our church tried to sweep it under the rug. Our parents tried to act as if the marriage never happened. Not one person even expressed sorrow for what he did to her." She pulled her knees up to her chest again and rested her chin on them. "I attacked a girl because she said a freak like Audrina deserved it, that she must have used some devil worshiping witchcraft for him to even look at her. I spent a day grounded for every punch I landed on her smug little face until I was pulled off of her. Daddy never talked about it, but I think he was proud I stood up for her."

"So, you're on your third day in Gotham with your sister." He said his words slowly, ignoring the usual urge to shove down that Georgia accent. "How ever will you be able to handle becoming the perfect little church go-er after this?"

She threw her head back and placed the heels of her hands against her forehead. "Bleh, I have no clue. I like spending time with Audrina, she actually listens to me, she didn't even get angry at me for breaking her trust. She's caring, and of the three friends of hers I've met you all seem like fun people. Heck, tomorrow I even get to meet Mr. Bruce freaking Wayne because she's got to drop off some paperwork she'll be finishing up and is taking me with her so I can see her workplace. Then she's actually giving me a tour of what little of Gotham she knows." Amber blushed and sat back up to meet Jonathan's clear blue eyes, her green one bright. "Plus, I don't think I can find anyone who would even think of doing what you did."

He gave a smirk and traced her arm with his fingers. "I do admit, it's refreshing to find someone so willing and eager." He ran his thumb over the bite on her collarbone. "Someone who actually enjoys the pain and begs for more? It's hard to come by in my line of work."

She kissed his thumb when it ran over her lips before getting out of the bath and wrapping a towel around herself. She drained it then walked out of the bathroom, Jonathan following after. He stood behind her as she opened a drawer to look for underwear. He reached past her and picked out a pair for her. She blushed and put them on, grabbing the matching bra. She opened another drawer and picked out a shirt, looking back at him to see if he had any objections. He just nipped at her neck and nodded. She pulled the shirt on and bent over to choose between jeans and her shorts.

He occupied himself with tracing his fingers over her thighs and panties while she choose. She pulled on some shorts and walked with him back to the living room. He walked over to the bookcase again and picked out one, she did the same. When he sat down to read she curled up next to him and began reading her own book.


	7. The return of David

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amber swears she sees David as they leave the apartment, but she's seeing things. Right?

Audrina made sure Amber was well dressed, making sure she was in more than what she'd been wearing the past two days. "Now, I'm just going in to check up and give Mr. Wayne some paperwork to sign. You will be good, I don't care if you back talk to those rude women in the office, but I'm his personal PA now so I don't actually work with them anymore but they are rude if you don't fit their 'Stepford Wives' version of beauty." She tugged down Ambers button down and smoothed down the wrinkles on her arms. "I'm sorry but I'm nervous that you're meeting my boss and I've tried so hard to be a good worker."

Amber just laughed and rolled her eyes. "Alright Mom. I promise to be on good behavior. No flirting, no flipping off the rude women, just be polite." She pulled her long hair into a ponytail and put some red lipstick on. "I've been a good little girl for 18 years, Gotham isn't going to stop me from being a good little girl for a few hours."

Audrina raised an eyebrow and muttered to herself as they left the apartment. "Gotham sure made you throw away that good little girl pretty fast though." Amber laughed and turned red. "Yes, I know about you and Jonathan. We're also going to stop by the pharmacy and I'll get some Plan B for you since I know I don't have any condoms in my apartment."

Amber turned even more red as she buckled herself in. "Actually Harley gave me some when we were shopping at the mall." She looked out the window and saw someone leaning against a pillar in the car park. "Do your friends usually stalk you?"

Audrina turned towards her confused. "Not that I know of. Why?" She started to drive away and Amber felt her blood chill as she realized why the silhouette looked familiar. It was David. Amber kept her mouth shut and tried not to panic. She looked down at her phone. Jonathan had given her his cell number in case she wanted to play again or just talk.

She looked over at Audrina, oblivious but still stressed about the meeting with her boss. Amber knew she couldn't worry her any more but someone needed to know David was actually in town. She sent a quick text to Jonathan, _'David's in town. I saw him in the carport. He was watching us. Audrina didn't see him, she doesn't know_.'

Her phone pinged and she gave Audrina a smile when she glanced over. Amber looked down at the phone and it simply said, ' _Stay calm. Will handle this_.'

They got inside Wayne Corp without any sign of David, Audrina gave smiles to everyone she passed. Amber felt angry when she'd hear them mutter about how that freak became Wayne's PA. She wanted to punch the woman who whispered that Audrina slept with him to get the position. It felt so sudden that they were at the large wooden doors and Audrina was opening it and walking in like she owned the place.

"Mr. Wayne! Have I caught you at a bad time?" He shuffled some papers and put them in a folder before looking up at Audrina, then glancing over at Amber. She could see the quick double take when he saw her. She wondered if this meant he'd seen Harley without her make-up and costume. "This is my sister, Amber Snow. She's in town for a bit as I'm sure you remember."

He smiled at Audrina, Amber gave a smirk to herself, that was a playboy smile. She could see it had no effect on Audrina so it could just be an automatic response. "Not at all. You have those papers on the merging?" He walked over to Amber and she felt so small standing in front of him. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Snow." She smiled back at him and gave a firm handshake. He gave a small laugh, "That's a firm grip you have there!"

She laughed with him. "I'm in gymnastics and softball. Sometimes you need a strong grip." She stood back and watched as Audrina and Mr. Wayne spoke about business. She wasn't paying attention to their words, but watching them interact and looking around the room. She looked to the side and saw the massive glass panes. She walked over to them and looked out at Gotham. She looked around and thought she saw someone on the rooftop. It seemed weird so she took a zoomed in picture with her phone. She was about to check it out when Audrina called her name.

"Amber, we've finished up here and Mr. Wayne invited us to lunch. Would you like to do that?" Amber just gave a nod, she turned and couldn't see the man anymore. She gave a shrug, maybe it was a Gotham thing. She joined them as they got in the elevator. "Are you alright Amber? You seem distracted?"

She gave a laugh and waved her hand, "It's just that there's so much to see! It's a really big city." Audrina gave a smile at that and Mr. Wayne laughed as well.

"It sure is a big city. I found out once it takes about 3 hours to get from one end to the other on foot." He looked down at the two of them, Amber shifted to the side away from his intense stare. "I'm sorry Amber you look so much like a young psychiatrist I saw in the papers." He gave a laugh and waved his hand. "You could be her twin I swear."

They were saved from more when the elevator doors opened and the three of them walked into the lobby. Audrina carrying her papers, Mr. Wayne leading and Amber trailing behind, looking out the windows for any sign of David. She stopped in the middle of the lobby when Audrina touched the door handle. " _No_." Her voice was only a whisper.

Audrina walked out of Wayne Corp next to Bruce Wayne talking with him while smiling. "I'll have that proposal ready for you as soon as possible Mr. Wayne, we can present it to the board at the next meeting." She reached for the door and gave a blushing laugh when he opened it for her. She stepped through the door, turning to thank him when a shot rang out. Audrina caught the bullet in her chest as she had turned, she dropped instantly and Bruce Wayne dropped as well, clutching his arm and looking around. A scream came from inside the lobby as Amber stood frozen in place.

People swarmed around, with others screaming and running away. Bruce Wayne grabbed Audrina and dragged her back inside while calling the police. Once he dragged her inside he winced and grabbed his arm again, pulling the hand back he realized it was bleeding even more. He looked around, taking in everything to look over later. The door had the bullet stuck in the glass, papers thrown everywhere, barely any blood outside just the trail from him dragging her, but the ground was filling with Audrinas inside the building. He reached over and placed two fingers against her neck, he gave a sigh of relief that she was still breathing and her heart was still beating. Her eyes fluttered opened and she raised her hand towards him. He grabbed it and tried to speak, but was silenced by her hand glowing purple. His arm started to heal and he gasped when she passed out.

Amber threw herself forward, her knees landed in Audrina's blood, her hands were shaking and she just kept repeating ' _No_ ' over and over again. Bruce was afraid she had a mental break but as he reached out to touch her she slapped his hand back and ran out the door. She stood directly where Audrina had been shot and looked up at the buildings. He watched her take out her camera phone and do a sweep of the crowd and of the building tops. She gave a nod and ran back to her spot by her sister's side.

The police and ambulance arrived quickly, paramedics swarming around Audrina while one walked over and started looking at Bruce's arm. They were surprised to see no wound at all. An officer walked up and started taking his statement about what happened. Wayne did his best to act like someone in shock, but he knew right off the bat that everyone had come to the wrong conclusion. The bullet wasn't meant for him. The shooter would have had a clear shot when he stepped out to hold the door in front of Audrina, instead she had been hit the moment she fully left the building, the guy was professional enough to wait for her, but hit a high profile target either by accident or on purpose. Either he wanted it to look like she wasn't the target and didn't care of the consequences or he was new to being a hitman.

He watched as they interviewed her sister. She had to be held back by several cops, kicking and screaming she needed to be with her sister. They were worried because of the blood all over her pants. She broke free of them with slacking her arm then yanking and flipping out of the grip of the other two. " **Audrina! Audrina! It was David I'm sure of it!** " He stood up and grabbed her around the middle, holding her in place as she kicked and screamed. "David did it! It was that rat bastard! _He was here! **He was here!**_ " He turned her around and pulled her into a hug as she started sobbing.

He took one last look at Audrina before she was carted off into the ambulance, her blue blouse soaked with blood, even her suit jacket was covered. Her purple hair becoming caked in blood looked almost black. She looked so pale and frail in that moment it was painful. He looked down at her little sister. She looked as if her world was torn out under her. "Amber. Lets go to the police officers and tell them what you said."

She stopped mid sob and snapped her head up at his. Her green eyes and freckles stood out against her pale skin just then but he could see she'd just thought of something. She backed up from him and pulled out her phone, quickly dialing a number and running away. He moved to go after her but one of the officers blocked him and asked what she was saying. "David is Audrina's exhusband. He's supposed to be in jail so I don't understand why her sister was screaming about him being here." By the time he managed to get free she was gone and the reporters had shown up.

* * *

  
With a wicked grin he slammed the head of his cane on the man's shoulder. The muffled screams were music to his ears. He placed the cane under the man's chin. Harsh green eyes met pleading brown eyes. "You coward." He ripped the tape off the man's mouth, "You weakling! You shot her! You tried to kill her!" He swung the cane again, breaking the man's knee cap there was more screaming.

"I only did what I was paid to do!" The man shouted in fear. "I didn't know she was your girl! Honest! I didn't!" He struggled against his bonds, trying to pull away from The Riddler.

A cold feminine voice came from the shadows. "I say we shoot him. I know who did this. He's _useless_." Riddler turned and stared hard into the shadows.

"We need it from the horse's mouth. So, who paid you?" The cane twirled again and the bound man flinched, The Riddler tapped the cane in his hand.

"I only met the guy once! He paid me ten grand to knock her off!" The man tried to lift his hands in surrender, "He said she was cheating on 'im and she'd be easy pickings. He lied! F-first she's near Bruce Wayne a lot and he got hit too and now I find out she's actually your girl!" The Riddler turned to the pair standing in the shadows.

"Did the man who paid you give you a name?" He motioned for the man to step out. "I will know if you lie to me of course."

The sight of The Scarecrow made the hitman start screaming. "His name was David! H-he left town already! Said he wanted a picture of her dead body mailed to his P.O. Box!" The Riddler walked away as The Scarecrow swept over his newest victim.

"Scarecrow. I want to hurt this man. May I join in?" Amber stepped forward, she was still in the same bloodstained clothes from that afternoon. She lifted her hand and the shooter screamed at the knife in her hand. Scarecrow turned towards her and gave a nod. She lunged forward and started stabbing the man in non vital areas, the arms, the legs, she was about to stab him in the chest when she was yanked off of him by Scarecrow. " **He deserves death**!" She screamed at him. She now had blood all over her and the man was struggling and whimpering in pain, tears streaming down his face. She was about to get up but Scarecrow just raised a hand and she sat back down. She placed down the knife and kicked it away to resist the urge to keep stabbing.

"I apologize my dear friends, but I must leave in search of a rat." The Scarecrow just waved a hand as he injected the hit man with fear toxin. Tracking down the P.O. Box was easy, after that it was just a matter of hacking into the official records and finding who owned the box and their address on file.

" _I've found you_." He whispered to himself with a grin. "Now, do I leave this pathetic excuse of a man to the authorities or take care of him myself?" He glanced out the window and saw the night approaching. "Or maybe I could collect on a favor from a Bat and a few friends." His phone pinged and he looked down at it. " _Shooter's dead. Amber finished him off._ " He gave a small frown wondering how he'd keep her safe when she was covered in the man's blood last he saw her.

Running and jumping across rooftops, one Rouge did manage to find Batman, "Hey Bats! We need a favor from you!"

"Harley? Is there a problem?" The caped crusader turned from his overlook of Gotham.

"Yeah Bats, someone tried to kill Audrina! The Riddler figured out who it was, turns out Amber was right, it was Audrina's ex but he knows she wouldn't like him murdered, she's a sweet girl like that, so we wanted to know if you could help us capture him and keep him from ever seeing the light of day again." Harley had tears in her eyes when she finished talking. "If you need evidence Amber was smart enough to take video and while she missed it originally we found the shooter running away in her video and she caught a picture of him on the rooftop before the shooting."

"I'll see what I can do. You said The Riddler found out who was behind it? Has he tracked him down?" Batman turned towards Harley giving her his full attention. He looked at the ladder when he heard someone climbing up it.

The Riddler climbed up to the rooftop the two were."Yes to both accounts Batman. Riddle me this, you can have me but cannot hold me, gain me and quickly lose me, if treated with care I can be great, if betrayed I will break. What am I Batman?" He walked up to Batman, tapping his cane, "What am I giving you to help her?"

"Trust." Batman looked between the two villains. "You don't want to break her trust in you, so you're placing trust in me."

"Exactly Bats! We even got most of the gang either watching over Audrina, or staying off the streets until this is handled!" She looked down and rubbed her toe in the ground, "Except Mistah J, but he's busy plannin' something big for you and the league." Batman looked at her, she continued on, "If that isn't enough to get you to help us, I have the schematics for the bombs Mistah J is planning to use!" She pulled a rolled up paper out of her pocket. "But you're the only one who can see it! If everyone knows how to disarm it he'll become suspicious, okay?"

Batman nodded as he took the plans from her. "Thank you Harley. I'll help you two. Is anyone else coming along?" The two villains shook their heads as the batplane pulled up next to the rooftop. "Then hop in." The Riddler and Harley both squeezed in the seat behind Batman, both glad they were quite thin. 

* * *

  
Audrina opened her eyes in the hospital, she felt her hand being held and turned to see her sister holding her hand. "Amber?" Her voice was so dry, everything hurt.

"Audrina! You're awake thank god!" Her sister jumped up and grabbed some water with a straw, holding it for Audrina to drink. Once she'd had her fill Amber put the cup down and picked up Audrina's phone, sending multiple texts.

"What happened?" She tried to sit up but Amber quickly pushed her back down. "I remember talking to Mr. Wayne and then, there was so much pain and screaming. I had to help him, he was hurt and he looked so surprised. I heard you screaming, are you okay?"

"Audrina, sis you were shot!" Amber jumped up from her seat, unable to contain her energy. "David, that asshole hired a hitman to kill you! Only he was stupid and didn't kill you thank god, but he got captured by your boyfriend and Crane experimented on the man. I may have stabbed him a few times. Ed found where David was and Batman, freaking Batman got David in jail and because he also hit Mr. Wayne people are having him in there for a long time." She finished her pacing and looked back at her sister. The sight before her made her tear up. Audrina usually so full of life, her beautiful brown skin looked pale and ashen, her hair was unkempt, she had IVs in both arms and a heart monitor on her.

"Well it sounds like a lot happened while I was out. How long has it been?" She glanced at her phone, it lit up with messages.

"About two weeks, you lost a lot of blood and then you used your powers while you were so weak." Amber hugged herself and placed a hand on Audrina's shoulder to prove she was really there. "Harley called and made up an excuse about interviewing for a scholarship to Gotham University, and then they introduced me to this man who looked like clay and he turned into you, he faked your form and voice perfectly. Your neighbor and coworker gave me your apartment keys so I didn't have to break in. But that Clayface guy! He fooled Mom and Dad and convinced them I could stay longer and check out the University, said it was a scholarship available to family members of Wayne Corporations. Which turned out to be true!" She ran her fingers through Audrina's hair, thinking of the times she'd wash and brush out her sister's hair, always finding more blood in those long curly locks.

Audrina gave a laugh. "That's real nice of them. Could you tell me what my phone's saying. My arms feel very heavy right now."

"Oh that's the drugs, the bullet tore through a lot of muscle and nicked an artery, it's why you lost so much blood. Then you got a fever and they were worried about your body rejecting the blood. It was a very scary first week." She walked back to the phone. "It's messages from your friends. Harls can't wait to see you, Crane who by the way, I could see what we have being longer term, hopes this hasn't backtracked your therapy. Ed's um, I'll let you read that. Also that reminds me, sorry for sleeping with your boyfriend." Audrina tried and failed to wave a hand.

"As long as he gave you a pleasant first time I don't mind."

"He did, and thank you. Pam says she'll see you soon, and Mr. Wayne is happy you're on the mend."

Audrina smiled and tried to lift herself up again. "Could you help me at least get to sitting?" Amber quickly moved the bed into position and fluffed her pillows before leaning her back. "Thank you. Are you actually going to pursue that scholarship? I could switch my sewing room into a proper bedroom if you want to stay off campus. Something better than a futon."

"I think I will. I've heard great things about it and they do offer Physics as a major and have an awesome theatre department I can minor in."

"My sister the actress." Audrina's voice was so thick and exhausted. Amber held back her tears, smiling at her instead.

"Let me get my degree, attend Law School instead like Mom and Dad want. Acting is helpful, and fun." She ran a finger over Audrina's hand. "I'll contact the nurses. Take a walk to their station and let them know you're awake. Give you a sec to just- to get a handle on everything." Amber stood up and left the room, glancing back at her sister one last time. 

* * *

  
Edward was so glad to have her back. He didn't care that her sister was staying with them for a few more days. The moment she came through her front door and saw him, her face lit up and he rushed forward to kiss her. "That man is never going to hurt you again. Crane's arraigned something special for him."

She pulled away from him, leaning against his chest and moving slightly so Amber could follow her in. Amber dropped her purse on the table and started texting someone with her phone. "Hope he records it or you get a copy of the security footage Eddy. I want to see him suffer."

Audrina started to walk over to Amber when Edward stopped her. "Amber, he's gone. He can't hurt me anymore and that's all that matters." She still looked exhausted, her hair falling limp around her face and bags under her eyes. It almost looked like Edward was the only thing holding her up.

Her sister turned and stomped her foot, her green eyes lit with anger. "That pathetic waste of an egg and sperm tried to make it seem like you deserved the beatings! Like you deserved to be raped nightly by him! He strutted around like he was our lords gift on earth when he was the devil in disguise! Every bruise he placed on you, every time he raised the knife towards you, every time he threatened you, hurt you, raped you- I want that fear and that pain- the physical sensation of pain to be thrust upon him. I want to see him fall to his knees and beg our Heavenly Father for forgiveness and hear the word 'No'."

She was breathing heavily by this point, her hands in fists and her jaw clenching. "I hope that he falls into the eternal darkness and finds the fire and brimstone. Because Audrina, for hurting someone as pure as you, someone blessed with the gift to heal others, he deserves all that and more." She curled and uncurled her fists, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. "I want to be the one to tear him open just to see there is a heart in that body."

"Amber, I didn't know you felt so strongly about what happened. I mean, Mom and Dad just acted as if everything was normal. They let me stay with them during some of the court proceedings, but I-" Amber cut Audrina off with a wave of her hand.

"They didn't want to be the gossip of the church. They wanted things normal. That's why they suppressed your gifts, that's why they ignored all the signs. They are good people, but they care more about their image at church that seeing the cracks in the mirror." Amber sighed and looked back at her phone. "I'm sure you want a nice night with Edward, so I'm going to stay at Jonathan's tonight." She gave a smile over Audrina's head to Edward. "Maybe I'll relax him enough to finally go to sleep. I think he's on day 2 or 3 of no sleep."

Audrina looked up as Edward started to laugh. "Dear?" He let go of her and slapped his knee before calming himself down and kept giggling.

"So Amber, your plan is to fuck him to sleep?" He started laughing even harder when Audrina gasped and slapped his arm.

"Don't be so crude Edward!" She did bite her lip in amusement when Amber nodded with a big smile. "Be sure to pack a few clothes that cover you up. I don't know what all you two get up to, but you looked satisfied and had bruises and hickeys last time."

"Oh I'm sure you'll eventually figure out what we get up to. It's real fun. Especially since we all know Jonathan is a very domineering man." She gave a wink towards the couple and turned to walk to her bedroom.

"Wait, is she implying-?"

"That they are both very kinky? Yes, yes she is and yes he is."

"Huh. You would know that about him how?" She turned and crossed her arms over her chest, giving him a smile and a raised eyebrow. He flushed under her smile.

"I may have experimented a few times. Jonathan and I, we can work but we clash a little too much to be anything long term." He started to guide her towards her bedroom, still intent on his original plan but blushing.

She gave a small giggle, "So, top or bottom?"

"Jonathan refused to ever bottom, and I found him to be a bit to rough at times." He opened the door and placed his arms around her as she gasped. The room had candles around and he'd somehow gotten a large blanket that was green with question marks and had it covering her bed. There were several bottles of oils on her nightstand and he had also laid out a set of lingerie for her with a green silk eye mask lying next to it. "I hoped to spend tonight showing you just how much I've missed you while you were in the hospital."

"Oh heavens Edward, you didn't need to go through the trouble." She tucked her head in his chest. "I'm not even sure we could-"

"Hush you. Go take a shower, dry off and I'll give you a massage. We all know hospital beds with give you aches. If you don't want to go any further, we won't." She walked to the bathroom to shower and he turned in the doorway to see Amber walking towards the door. "And you young lady look more like an escort than simply visiting." His eyes narrowed as he took in the small skirt that flared and the corset top. "Take Audrina's car. You're not walking anywhere in Gotham dressed like that. It's not safe and I don't trust anyone in the Narrows not to try and take advantage of you in some way. Also, take a large jacket, you could always do the dramatic reveal once he's pulled away from his experiments and chemicals." She held up Audrina's keys and shook them in response before smirking and grabbing a jacket off the hook.

"See you tomorrow Ed."

"Stay safe Amber." He watched her walk out the door and took his gloves off, placing them on the countertop. He looked around the room thinking to himself how she's bringing so much light in his life. He turned and walked into the bedroom. The showed was still running, he opened the door slightly and saw Audrina was washing her hair.

"Edward!" She jumped and grabbed the soap tray to keep from falling. She stood like a deer in the headlights, fully exposed to him and in shock.

"I was just checking in on you Audrina. Do you want me to leave?" She looked unsure for a moment.

"No. No I think you seeing what I really look like, scars and all is a good step to take." She put her head back in the water stream and kept scrubbing. He noticed there were some spots the blood hadn't been washed out and he watched her condition her hair.

With a smirk he started to undress and when he was completely naked he walked up to the shower and opened the glass door. She turned at the cold air that came in. "Would you like some help there?" He loved the way she blushed.

"I want to say no but I still feel bruised and tired so help would actually be appreciated. But back only! I'm not sure how comfortable I am yet." She gave a shy smile at him trying not to cover herself up. "It feels like standing on the edge of a cliff and wondering if I can take the leap or not."

"I understand." He placed his hands up. "I will stick to your back only in helping unless you ask for more." She gave a giggle and handed him her washcloth. He poured the soap on it and scrubbed at her back while mentally cataloging all the scars, the thick raised ones, the thin pale ones, he even noticed burn scars. He stopped scrubbing her and started to massage her conditioner deeper in her hair as she scrubbed her front. He looked at more of her scars as he lifted her hair to massage her scalp, he looked over to see her front and immediately saw the burn scar across one breast. He hugged her and placed his head against hers. "I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. I can understand your sister's anger more now."

She turned towards him, the water rinsing off her hair and back. "What's done is done. I can't fix what he did to me. I just have to move forward." She closed her eyes and pressed her head against his chest. "I just have to prove I'm made of stronger stuff than him." She stepped back and looked up at him, neither of them caring about the water turning cold. "This is me. I can't change it, as much as I've tried I can't get rid of these scars. It's an all or nothing deal with me and these horrible scars." She was tearing up as he traced the scar from getting shot.

"Audrina, these scars show you survived. They show how strong you are." He reached past her, turned off the water and kissed her softly. "I am upset about the scars yes, but only because you had to endure all of that." He guided her out of the shower and to the bed. "I'm still giving you a massage. You deserve to be pampered, never punished."

She gave a tearful nod and laid facedown on the bed, letting him massage her muscles and relaxing until she fell asleep. He gave a soft smile and wrapped the blanket over her, turning her onto her side. He walked around and blew out the candles before slipping into the bed and pulling her back close to his chest and falling asleep. 

* * *

  
"I can't believe you got yourself caught and in Arkham. Again!" Audrina sighed as she looked at the man before her. Edward was in an Arkham jumpsuit and currently handcuffed to the table as a guard stood off to the side. She gave a smile as she placed her hand on his. "I checked to see what you are able to be given and I got a few crossword puzzles for you and some sudoku if you get bored with those."

He gave a grin, "Thank you my dear," he pulled her hand towards him and laid a kiss on it. "I happily admitted to killing that man. He was the one that shot you." He raised his hands as much as the cuffs would allow and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't mention how he turned himself in to stop the police from finding out who really killed that man.

"I'm well aware my dear." She gave a sigh and a smile, "I just- I'm not sure how I feel about the whole eye-for-an-eye thing." She patted his hands and stood up to leave.

"Well, I do hope the guards treat you alright, and please do not antagonize them. Not everyone appreciates your riddles." She gave a small smile and blushing tapped a quick message for him in morse code before leaving. He gave a smirk at the message and felt glad that she hopefully never knows who really killed that man.

* * *

  
Edward waited until after the guards had left before looking through the books, he felt along the edge of the first book and pulled a picture out. It was of Audrina, but she was in lingerie, half draped over a chair and with a blushing smile. He looked around to make sure everyone else was occupied before looking again at the photo. "Looks like I have something to look forward to later." He slid it back in it's place until lights out.

He traced over the edges of the others to see if there were any messages. He flipped through the crossword puzzle book and furrowed his brow as he noticed a letter was filled in, he turned the page, another letter. He went through the whole book and smirked to himself as he got the message. ' _Thank you, I owe you everything. Please don't tell Audrina_.'


	8. There's more than the Rogues in Gotham

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrina discovers Gotham is not safe just because you're friendly with the Rogues.

**Transmission from the office of Jonathan Crane**

"It's a pleasure to see you Dr. Crane, I had thought Batman would have captured you in the last rounding up of the Rogues."

"No Miss Hernandez, I've been lying low for a while. Shall we try the latest concoction or would you like to discuss how the capture of so many of your friends has treated you."

"I would prefer just the talking this time Doctor."

"Alright, how have things been treating you?"

"I never realized how lonely I was until this past month. I always enjoyed my work then looked forward to going home and seeing which Rogue broke into my apartment this time, or if Edward left me a riddle to figure out. Even just checking my phone at the end of the day to see what text or picture Harley sent me. Did you know she once took the time during a fight with Batman to take and send selfies?"

There was a low chuckle.

"She's an interesting friend. Well, I never really noticed how much my hair stands out until earlier this week."

"What do you mean? You've lived in Gotham with that odd hair color for over a year."

"I little girl ran up to me in the mall and asked if I 'was one of those scary meta-humans'. Is Gotham really so detached from the world that being a meta-human makes someone scary?"

"Gotham is unique in and of itself."

"I am realizing that more and more." There was a sigh, "I have been trying to keep busy because I never realized I don't have friends outside of the rouges and my neighbor. I feel as if I have to keep busy so I can't think."

"Why do you not want to think?"

"I believe my dark thoughts are returning. I fear there may be something wrong with me. Well, aside from my health issues and anxiety. If I let myself think I realize that all of my friends are criminals. My ex-husband is a murderer, my birth mother was somehow mixed up with a drug cartel. Maybe I really have been cursed by God, maybe there is something wrong with me to be surrounded by those who disregard the law."

"Miss Hernandez. Take a breath. Blow your nose. Keep breathing. Now, I believe you may have to go back onto the higher dose. Remember how well you were doing last month before we lowered it? One of my connections will write your script. Alright?"

"That sounds good Dr. Crane. I'm sorry I lost conrol."

"It's acceptable to lose control once in a while. We're human, humans have flaws. Now about your fears of attracting negative people. You were lured in by your ex-husband. I believe on your first day in Gotham you met both Edward and Harleen, correct? They told you right off the bat who they were. Have any of your friends ever hurt you? I can't answer anything about your mother or a farce of a higher power, but I can tell you that David and Edward are two completely different breed of criminals."

"Thank you for calming my fears Dr. Crane. Though there is one other thing I'm really worried about."

"What is it?"

"It's that medication, the one you couldn't find any data on. Well since I've been off it, things have happened."

"Such as?"

"Well for one, the purple in my hair is more vibrant. The other I've noticed is that I can heal others. I've healed a little girl in my complex who scraped her knee, and I tried to heal myself of a burn I obtained while cooking, but it doesn't work on me."

He gave a low chuckle, "If you do not mind, I may contact you the next time Batman and I have a meeting."

"I'd love to help a friend out. Thank you."

_**Transmission Ended** _

Bruce turned in his seat and looked at Batgirl and Nightwing. "She really does have healing powers. Good thing I wasn't hallucinating." He gave a low chuckle at their expressions.

Nightwing sat down in a chair, staring up at Batgirl. "It really happened, she really did heal you completely. I mean, Bette and I watched it happen." His head snapped towards Bruce, "What does she mean she only just found out? Wait, her head was down the whole time and she didn't look back after healing you Babs."

"So wait, the woman you've been collecting information on turns out to be an actual healer?" Batgirl looked between the two men. "Is she a meta-human or is it some kind of magic?"

Bruce turned and tapped a few buttons, showing the two times they caught her healing on camera. "She doesn't seem to even realize it's happening. I'm leaning towards meta-human."

* * *

She knew she should have called a cab with her car being in the shop, but she felt relatively safe walking home, most of the rogues knew her and even Batman left her alone. Audrina just smiled to herself, knowing Harley had broken out just last week and she was sure Edward would get out soon. She paused as she heard someone walking behind her. She thought it was odd, since the street was empty but she turned around anyways and saw four men walking behind her.

Audrina sped up her pace and stuck one hand in her purse, clutching her tazer. She was an acquaintance of Scarecrow, she was The Riddlers girlfriend, and her best friend was Harley Quinn. These guys couldn't be trying to take her, right? She sped up as she heard the footsteps get closer. When her complex came in sight she broke out into a run, pulling her taser out of her purse and clutching it tightly. She cursed leaving her hair loose as someone grabbed it, yanking her to the ground. She could feel the rough ground scraping her face.

She twisted and tazed the man who had her hair, trying to get up and run before the second man grabbed her shoulders and as she screamed for help the third smacked her across the face, knocking her glasses halfway down her nose, then stuck a gag in her mouth. The fourth man strolled up and looked her in the eyes, observing her like a slab of meat.

"Fairly pretty, probably look better once her face heals up. Don't forget to tie her up, last thing we need is a fighter again." The man holding her shoulders yanked her hands behind her back while one of the others wrapped her arms with a thick rough rope, it hurt how tight he wrapped it. Her shoulders were stretched back and she could feel the strain of her muscles. The leader grabbed her chin and turned her head from side to side. "Exotic, maybe we'll earn a bit more from her than the usuals, gotta make her a bit thinner though. We get paid more for the thin ones. That's if we don't have some fun with her first."

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her closer to kiss her on the lips around the gag, she felt disgusted as his other hand then grabbed each of her breasts as if to weigh them. He then picked up her hair again and looked it over. "Metahuman, this hair isn't dyed at all. Toss her in the van and put the collar on her. She'll earn a pretty penny. I'd love to test her out before the buyers do. I bet she's a screamer, probably a wildcat in bed." The man who had been holding her started to pull her towards the van and she gave one last try. Remembering what Harley had told her she dug her heel down his shin he let go with a shout of pain. Then she kicked the man in front of her as close to the groin as she could get and ran. The third man who had gagged her ran after her, he was holding something circular in his hands and she was afraid.

Her heart beat so loud she was afraid they could hear it. She ran past her apartment, she ran towards The Narrows, wondering and praying she could outrun the man for 10 blocks and reach Scarecrow. Harleys current hideout was in the direction she had come from, she couldn't head that way. 8 blocks left, she could hear the man panting and calling her horrid names, she wanted to cry. 7 blocks, her lungs were burning and she could see a few people on the streets, maybe one of them worked for Scarecrow. They'd seen her walking in and out of his office. She wished she could scream, her legs and lungs burned and she could hear the man catching up. 5 blocks, she tried spitting out the gag as she ran, but she fell over and scrambled to get back up, breaking a heel and her glasses in the process. 4 blocks, she could see a dark blur walking nearby, a tall man carrying a scythe walking around in a long coat looking at the junkies lying around. 3 blocks, it had to be him, she ran right towards him.

Scarecrow looked up to see a gagged Audrina running towards him, her eyes were so full of fear it was beautiful. He glanced behind her and saw a large man ready to grab her, three others a ways behind him. He pulled his scythe out in front of him, gripping it with both hands, and he could see the tears and relief in Audrina's eyes. It quickly turned to terror as the man grabbed her and slammed something over her throat. There was an instant change in her appearance and he dropped her in surprise. This was Scarecrows moment, she hit the ground and didn't move, he swept forward and sliced the man. He barely had a chance to scream before he was clutching his throat. The man fell to the ground, right next to Audrina his blood started to pool around them both.

  
The three men turned to run away but he lept over the two bodies before him and caught up with one, he stabbed him with a needle, this subject would be much better than those junkies he was considering. He dropped like a rock and Scarecrow lept over the body, there were two left. The slower one he sliced across the back, dropping him but not killing. The fourth one, he must be the smarter one, he tried to turn into an alley. He was quickly disposed of.

He gave a smile and sang to himself "Hush little baby don't you cry," as he swung the blade over the man. He turned and walked back along his path, grabbing and dragging the injured man as he hummed to himself. He dropped him where his unconscious companion lay. Scarecrow pulled a walkie talkie out of his coat pocket. "I need a pick up of a few new subjects. Just a few blocks nearby. I'll be here with one of my regular patients." He paused to hear conformation. "There's also two dead bodies that need to be moved."

He hummed to himself as he almost danced to Audrina, she looked so different with that collar around her neck. Her usual vibrant purple hair was black, her skin was darker. Or it may have just looked darker with the black hair. She looked like a regular Spanish beauty, but the most beautiful part was the look of terror in her eyes when her powers became locked. He doubted she even knew that she had physically changed, but the terror, the way she just dropped unable to try anymore, she'd frozen in place. He traced the collar with his finger, finding the lock and clicking it open. It was another instant change, so wonderful.

She snapped back to reality, fighting against the rope binding her arms together, she was gasping but not getting air with the gag. He ripped it off of her and she started gasping and coughing. "Oh thank the heavens!" She sobbed when she saw him, it was odd. Someone was glad to see The Scarecrow, this embodiment of terror was something she looked forward to seeing. She was crying and talking a mile a minute between great heaving breaths and he could see she would throw up if she continued.

"Stop." A small thrill went up his spine, she was kneeling before him, and stopped her panicking at one word. "Stand up." She followed his command again. He smirked to himself, he was enjoying what a submissive side she had, so similar to her sister. "Walk with me." He left her arms bound and a group of his henchmen walked up, he motioned behind him at the bodies. "Dispose of the dead, bring the live ones to my downstairs office." He turned towards Audrina, her brown eyes wide and still full of fear. "You'll come with me for a small session." She nodded and stepped closer to him. Knowing she'd rather face whatever he wanted to do with her than the unknown those men promised.

They walked into his warehouse and he guided her up the stairs to his private office. "Audrina, your fear is beautiful today." He guided her to the middle of the room and brushed his arms over her shoulders. "True terror, and yet you come to The Master of Fear for protection?" He gave a deep chuckle that had her shiver. He walked over to his desk, pulled off his coat, and pulled out several things she couldn't make out. He picked up one and walked towards her with it hidden. "Do you trust me Audrina, do you trust the Master of Fear while you are bound and helpless?"

The fear and hesitance in her eyes was wonderful to see. She nodded, "Yes. I trust Dr. Crane." He gave a slightly crooked grin, one she had not seen before and she shivered in fear of what he'd do. He walked around behind her and she could feel his hands in her hair, his hands over her shoulders and ghosting over her neck. She couldn't help the tremor that ran through her. She felt something on her mouth and she opened her mouth and he placed a ball gag in her mouth. She bucked against him, unable to stop the immediate panic. He placed a hand over her stomach and pulled her against him.

"I thought you trusted Johnny." He gave a deep chuckle as he fastened the gag. His hand on her front brushed over her hip, tracing down her leg to knees where the dress ended. "You're bleeding." She hadn't realized it, but when she fought against the men or when she collapsed it must have happened. He walked out of her sight and she closed her eyes as the light came on. "Too bad Johnny boy isn't here." She couldn't stop the tears from leaking out. She quickly looked over to the desk, it was a camera set up. It was recording, he'd never recorded one of her sessions before, not without permission.

He walked back towards her, standing behind her and looking at the quick ropework one of the men had done. Her arms were already scratched up from the rope. He stepped close to her, he could hear her breathing quicken and for a moment he just looked at her chest rising and falling as she tried to settle her panic. "What about this scares you?" He whispered into her ear, knowing she couldn't answer. He placed one hand on her hip and another just below her breasts. "Is it that I could do anything and you can't fight back?" He yanked her against him, her arms against his chest and his hips right against hers. "Do you fear my hands on you?" He brushed one hand over her breast, part of him stirring at her whimper. He tested it further by rubbing a circle over her nipple and smirked at the sound of pleasure muffled by the ball gag. "Or do you fear finding this pleasureable?" He quickly turned her around, pressing against her and relishing in the feel of her chest tightly pressing against him. "I think it's a mix of both." He pulled a knife from his pants pocket and slowly cut her ropes with one hand, the other holding her butt and pressing her against him with no room to move. He was sure she could feel his arousal starting and he enjoyed the feel of having her so close.

When her arms were free he quickly turned her back towards the camera and flicked the knife closed, one hand still holding her tight and the other putting the knife away. When he finished that he ran both hands up her sides, brushing his long fingers around her neck for a moment before placing a kiss on her neck. She jumped giving a slight muffled moan and he gave a chuckle. His fingers finally found their way to her gag and he released it, finally backing away from her. She collapsed, her whole body shaking. "Look towards the camera dear, I want to capture that fear." Still obedient she looked right at the camera, afraid, confused, and crying.

He walked back over to it and turned it off before he walked over to her again. He seemed almost a different person, the way he moved was more normal, she couldn't tell if anything else had changed, she could barely see him. He knelt down and lifted her chin. Crystal blue eyes meeting fear filled sard. "What did they try to do to you?"

It was like the floodgates had opened, she leapt forward and clung to him, sobbing. "They were following me to my apartment and then when they caught me one of them said I'd earn more for looking so exotic." She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and whimpered. "They said they'd have try me out first and-" She buried her face in his shoulder calming her breath for a moment. "He said I'd be a wildcat in bed, a fighter."

He gently pulled her off of him, his hands holding her wrists and looking her in the eyes. "Well, you did prove them right in one way, you were a fighter. You escaped and decided to show them fear." He gave a smile as he traced the tear marks on her face. "You also gave me two new subjects." She gave a weak smile and looked at the ground. "Come, you should return home."

Audrina bit her lip and looked up at him as he stood over her. "I'm not sure I can get my legs to move." He sighed and pulled her up to standing. "Thank you Dr. Crane." She glanced towards the camera, afraid to mention what he'd done.

"Just an experiment Scarecrow decided to perform dear. I'll make sure you get home safe, okay?" She nodded and walked with him out of the office. "You!" He pointed towards one of his henchmen, "Bring one of the cars around front. I'm escorting my patient home." He looked down at her legs, one was scratched up and bleeding. She had a broken heel on that same shoe, her nylons were ripped on both legs. "Audrina, take my arm. You'll balance easier that way."

She walked into her apartment after being dropped off, confused and shaken. She'd just had some men try to kidnap her and now two of them were dead and two more would wish for it. She had to get clean. She could still feel Jonathan's hands tracing her body and she was horrified by the dampness between her legs. She kicked off her shoes, dropped her bag on the counter and rushed into her bedroom. There she stripped and glanced in the mirror on the way to the shower.

She stopped in her tracks and turned to see herself fully.The left side of her face was swelling and her lip had actualy split, the dried blood covered her chin. The right side of her face didn't look to great either with the road rash she'd gotten from falling while running. Her arms were heavily bruised, the thick lines from the rope, there were small scratches from her straining to get free. She wanted to cry right then and there. This is what some complete strangers did to her. They tried to take her away and that man, who was now dead actually touched her, he actually put his mouth on her and she wanted to cry. She grabbed her cell phone and putting a camisole over herself took several pictures of the damage. She even took pictures of her bloody knee and leg and the bruise from her heels ankle strap.

Taking a deep breath she sent them to Harley, captioning, "I'm never walking home alone again and I am only alive and un-raped because of Scarecrow. He found my terror and my gift of new subjects good enough for him not to harm me."

She upped the ringer volume and turned on the shower, making the water as hot as she could stand. She had to scrub the feeling of hands off of her. The man made her feel terrified, she was still scared of what Scarecrow had done, but she was so confused because his touches were so soft. He moved his hands like Edward would and just thinking about it made her head spin. She had no idea how to feel, she loved Edward, she loved how gentle he was with her and how he let her choose the pace, but being ordered around- somehow that put a shiver down her spine.

She'd stood under the water enough, she need to keep scrubbing, her skin was red and the few cuts had reopened, staining the water red as it spiraled down the drain. She turned it off and wrapped the towel around herself. She froze and covered her mouth to stop a scream when she heard her balcony door open. She looked around for anything to defend herself it, she couldn't so she hid in the bathtub, holding her phone and silently crying. She texted into the void that was Edward's burner phone. She knew he wouldn't get the messages until he'd picked it pack up once he got back from Arkham. She then texted Harley, begging her to come over.

A phone pinged from outside the bathroom. Her chest loosened up a bit but she didn't climb out yet. Her phone pinged in her hands. "I'm sorry if I scared you! I'm sitting on your bed." She breathed a sigh of relief and climbed out of the bathtub, walking out of the bathroom and throwing herself into Harley's arms. She finally started to sob again, finally feeling safe in Harley's arms.

"Those men, they grabbed me and one of them- he kissed me and he grabbed at my breasts like I was a cut of meat being checked before you buy it! They were going to try me out and then-" She started to hiccup and held Harley even tighter, "I'm apparently exotic and they were going to get more for me and they had a collar and Harley _oh my god Harley they had a collar_." Harley pulled her away and made Audrina sit on the bed.

"Audrina, hun let's get you taken care of first. Then we can lie down and you can let it all out. But if we don't work on those bruises soon you're going to get a lot of questions." Harley gave Audrina a kiss on the forehead and walked straight to the closet. She pulled out one of Audrina's long sleeved nightgowns, knowing she'd want the mental protection they offered her. She walked around the house, grabbing bandaids, an icepack, and Pam's healing ointment.

She walked back with everything in her arms and Audrina was still sitting there on the bed. Her arms and legs were shaking and her purple hair was dripping onto the bed, carpet, and herself. When the door creaked open her head snapped up towards Harley and she could see the terror still in her eyes. "Hun, it's just me. Let's fix ya up okay? I know you're still scared, you were almost kidnapped and if Scarecrow saved you I bet you watched at least one murder tonight." She peeled off Audrina's towel, making her lie down as she bandaged her knee, placed the icepack on her face, and applied the cream to Audrina's ankle, arms, face, and even her side. "Looks like you took a bad fall too." She bandaged up Audrina's arms and leg then gave her the nightgown. "Here you go hun, I thought you might want to be as covered as possible."

Audrina nodded with tears in her eyes as she got up and dressed herself. She kept the icepack on her face as she moved slowly and stiffly.

"Lie back down, you can talk to me or if you want to hold me and talk we can do that too." Harley grabbed one of Audrinas camisoles and crisscrossed the straps so it would fit her shoulders. "See? We're just having a sleepover and you can talk. I can protect you, you are safe. Those men are gone." She patted the bed and Audrina lowered herself onto it, every movement was tense and she looked ready to run. "Now, tell me about the collar. Hold my hand if you need to."

Audrina grabbed Harley's hand and took several deep breaths. "The collar, it suppressed my powers. Not like how my medications did, but it was like part of me was shut off. It was such a shocking feeling I collapsed. I couldn't move, I could barely breathe. I felt torn apart. I didn't see what Scarecrow did because they got the collar on me just as I found him. They had tied me up and gagged me, but I freaked out, I fought against them and escaped. You were in the direction they had followed me from, and Scarecrow was the only one out of Arkham. I ran to his hideout."

"That's like 10 blocks from here!"

"I made it 7. I lucked out, The Scarecrow was looking for victims and apparently recognized me even without my glasses. He sliced the mans neck just after I fell, lept over the both of us and- I remember hearing screaming, but I just couldn't bring myself to move. He came back and ordered me to get up, then ungagged me. He didn't untie me, just dragged me along with him the next few blocks to his hideout. There he-" Audrina looked away and wrung her hands together, not sure how to curl in without hurting herself even more. "He made me stand in his office, he recorded it all, he unlocked the collar and I felt alive again. But then he- he gagged me. He had me bound and gagged standing in his office being recorded! He kept asking if I trusted him. I had to nod. I was so scared but-" Her cheeks flushed red and she looked over Harry's shoulder.

"Lemme guess, part of you liked it? In a way that made you start to feel aroused?" Harley reached out and rubbed Audrina's shoulder. "It's perfectly natural, you could just be a submissive person sexually and lemme tell you a secret." Audrina leaned in and Harley looked around before whispering. "Docta Crane, when he gets all serious and demanding, it doesn't matter how pinched and skeletally thin he looks. That voice is hot."

"He does have a rather nice voice but it was all so wrong!" Tears leaked from her eyes. "His hands were all over me and he kept asking about my state of fear and then he cut my arms finally free but I still just couldn't move. He kissed my neck and I- I could feel him against me while he did all that." Her face was still red from the shame of it all. "He um he seemed to rather enjoy all the touching he did. Then he just let me go and I just couldn't stand anymore. I just knelt there and cried and he had me turn towards the camera to capture my fear. After that 'experiment' as he called it was over. It was as if he was the man I'd always known. Dr. Crane was back and he drove me home." She crawled close to Harley and cuddled against her.

"Scarecrow's well- different from Docta Crane. You should bring it up next time you see eachother and Scarecrow did violate you." Harley started to stroke Audrina's hair, brushing it with her fingers and flicking the water off. "I'm not sure how comfortable you feel about telling him it arousing you-"

"I was wet. I checked in the shower, I was very very aroused and I don't know how to feel about it. I'm in love with Edward! I'm in a relationship with him! What's wrong with me?" She cried into Harley's shoulder, clutching her tighter.

"Nothing. It's fine to be physically aroused by something and mentally be saying no. Your body may have betrayed you, but it's your mind that counts." Harley moved to rubbing light circles on Audrina's back.

She gave a yawn, the day's events catching up to her. "What do I tell Edward?"

"Tell him to watch that tape Scarecrow made." Harley watched Audrina fall asleep and got up out of the bed. Reaching for her phone she sent a text to Ivy and Selina. _'Jon's fair game right now. No playing nice with him. Tell you later what he did.'_

* * *

  
The next day she walked to her desk like normal, ignoring all the whispers she could hear around her. It was a warm day, she she only wore a short sleeved button up, and she knew the bandages on her leg were visible through the nylons she wore under her business skirt. She knew that everyone could see the bruising, the scrapes, and the places she had to bandage. She slowly sat down in her chair, being mindful of her bruised ribs from her fall. After about an hour of working she noticed a shadow over her workstation, she looked up to see a very concerned Bruce Wayne.

"Miss Hernandez, if you don't mind my asking, what happened to you?" He reached a hand out to help her up. She leaned against the desk, favoring her leg.

"Did you know that Sex Traffickers are trying to snatch up women in Gotham?" He looked surprised and angry, she could hear the gasps of the people listening in. "I got a few lucky shots in after they tied my arms up. They should have bound my legs first, but a couple kicks and I managed to run away. She pointed to her bandaged leg and wrapped up ankle, "That's from trying to spit out the gag while running, my face is from the same. I hit the ground hard. Thankfully when a man is tazed they're slower at catching you, same if you kick them where it hurts and run a heel down their shin." She looked down at her arms, looking at the ugly bruising, the signs that she survived.

"How did you get away?" Mr. Wayne waved his hand infront of her and her attention snapped back up.

"Scarecrow actually." She could hear more gasps and whispering. "He was looking for new victims and I think he might have taken offense at what they would have done to me. I fell right in front of him and he- he leapt over me and killed the man who almost had me. Then he took down the other two and I think he killed the fourth. I heard screaming. He took the two living men. I almost pity them."

"Audrina. How did you escape Scarecrow? He's one of the worst rogues to come across. As Crane he can be alright, but if it was actually Scarecrow-"

"It was. He videotaped me, said my terror was so beautiful. He let me go. He made sure I got home safe. It was so very odd, but I think Dr. Crane returned and decided I was too injured to go home alone."

"Why didn't you go to the hospital?"

"It's all bruising and scrapes, they can't do anything but give me pain meds. I contacted a friend and she helped me through the worst of it. I was a mess last night, but today decided I would not let those lowlifes scare me into hiding in my apartment." Wincing she curled her arms around herself, even through the pain. "Though tonight I'm calling a cab because my car is still in the shop until tomorrow."

He drew himself up, his height almost imposing. "This is something that should never have happened. I'm going to speak with security about implementing some kind of ride system for any employee who doesn't have a way to drive or ride home. This cannot happen to anyone again." His shoulders slumped a bit and he looked at her sadly. "I am so sorry you had to go through that trauma last night."

She just looked to the side and shrugged. "I just hope either the GCPD or Batman find the rest of those traffickers. It can't be just four men with how confident they were."

"They will." She could see The Batman inside of him with the way he spoke. She knew tonight there would be the whole Batfamily out looking for more of those men. She felt almost safe at his words, his conviction that it would happen.

"Thank you Mr. Wayne, but I really must get back to work."

"Miss Hernandez, you look like every movement hurts. I'm calling for someone to take you home. You are off the next three days with pay to rest and heal. Contact your fiend. Do what you need to heal from this. Alright?" She gave a nod, thankful he was so caring.

"Thank you Mr. Wayne. If I'm meeting someone at the lobby, could you send for someone to help me walk down there? It would be much easier."

"I'll guide you myself. I'm just texting Alfred." He lent her an arm and they slowly walked to the elevator. It was empty and he looked down at her. "Scarecrow really let you go?"

"Well, he harassed me a bit first. I think he has feelings for me? I'm not sure, but Dr. Crane did come back and he insisted on driving me home, all while thanking me for the new subjects. It was really weird." She leaned her unbruised side against him. "Thank you for the time off, I'm exhausted already."

"I will make sure we find all of those sex traffickers. That's not allowed in Gotham."

"Just don't work those poor kids too hard, and don't tell them you know someone who was already caught by them, that Romani one, the eldest? He seems much to serious and would take it to heart to get them all. Same with that new girl, I don't want her getting in over her head because of me."

"He is very determined, he's a good kid though. She just needs to learn some more."

"That's good. We're almost at the lobby." She started to stand up and shift away from him.

"Audrina, it won't do anything to my image comforting an employee after a traumatic event." He placed his arm around hers and helped guide her out of the elevator.


	9. Edward's return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward returns from Arkham to make some discoveries and he tries to comfort Audrina.

Edward limped into his hideout, glad to have escaped Arkham but aggravated that he had gotten so injured. He grabbed some ice and a glass of water, picking up his phone and giving a small frown at the amount of messages. He looked them over, his brow furrowing in worry and confusion as to what happened. He called Harley, knowing it was safer to contact her than Audrina directly.

"Harleen. I've got some very concerning messages from a couple weeks ago sent by Audrina. Do you happen to know what happened?" He listened to her words. His grip tightening on the glass until he heard a crack. He quickly placed it back on the counter before he broke it and cut himself. "She's safe now?" He limped back to the couch and slowly laid down on it. "Could you do me a favor, come over and mail something to Audrina for me? She'll quickly figure it out. It's a sudoku book with my address hidden inside a secret slot. She gave it to me, she'll know to look there." He played with a loose string on his throw blanket, thinking it really needed to be patched up or replaced. "Yes Harley, if you could come over as soon as possible that would be great. I've missed her greatly but am unable to walk very much right now. Well if you must know my foot got caught in a gopher hole of all things and I fell in some bushes. I now have a badly twisted ankle that's going to have me out for at least several weeks because I still had to keep running on it." He frowned at the phone, "Stop laughing."

He gave a sigh and rubbed the stubble on his face. He hated being unshaven, it never grew in properly. "Yes it's the hideout near Jons, not the one near Ivy. Because she'd mock me where as Jon won't to my face!" He sighed again. "I'm sorry Harley, just come over alright?"

* * *

  
She found a package in the mail but didn't recognize who the sender was, there wasn't even a return address or a stamp. Audrina opened it and breathed a sigh of relief when nothing exploded. It was one of the puzzle books she had given Edward. With a smile she traced where she had hidden a picture for Edward months ago. There was a folded piece of paper there. She unfolded it and smiled seeing an address written on it. She changed her clothes and headed to the address, keeping it folded in her bra and making sure no one was following her above or on ground. When she got to the address in question she took a breath and walked up to the door, knocking before walking straight in. A wide smile shone on her face when she saw a bored looking Riddler lounging on the couch reading a book in some pajama pants and a wifebeater. She could see he had a bunch of scrapes all over his face and arms. He didn't realize it was Audrina who walked in and she enjoyed getting to sneak up on him for once.

With a smile she crept up to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He raised one hand from his book and stroked her hair while she leaned her face against his. She looked him over and took in how he wasn't just lying on the couch reading because he wanted to, his foot was propped up on a pillow and his ankle was heavily swollen. Audrina gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking over to his feet. Looking up at Riddler again she could see his green eyes peering over the book. She took a deep breath and knelt next to his feet, placing her hands over his ankle softly and brushing off his gasp as her hands began to glow purple.

"Audrina? What-" He stopped speaking when he twitched his ankle as he sat up. He put down his book and looked at his arm in curiosity and was surprised to see the cuts he received from the bushes heal up in front of his eyes. "You can heal people?"

She opened her eyes back up and the glow faded from her hands. "I discovered this power while you were in jail. Dr. Crane has been helping me test my healing power by coming to me or sending me a text to meet him after he gets injured. Or sometimes sending his henchmen to me if-" She paused and shook her head, "they've 'been stupid' and gotten themselves injured."

"And to think he hid this from me when he was captured just a few weeks ago!" He didn't fail to notice the way she paused when she said Dr. Crane. Something was bothering her about him.

She gave a small laugh, "He likes keeping his secrets, but I think he did miss you. He kept in contact with me quite steadily." She blushed and frowned thinking of the way he handled her last, before he got caught and thrown back in Arkham.

He gave a frown that she quickly missed, wondering what Jonathan was doing. Did he make advances to Audrina? Did she return them somehow? He quickly forgot his trace of thought as she climbed over him and gently pushing his book down, kissed him quite passionately. When she pulled away from his lips he realized she was straddling his lap and quickly sat up, pulling her closer. "I assume you missed me dear." He placed a kiss on the crook of her neck and slowly kissed his way up her jaw.

"I missed you very much Edward. I missed your riddles," She gave a small gasp as he sucked on her neck. "I missed your nighttime visits, I missed you telling me your wonderful plans." He ran a hand over her breast and earned a small moan from her. "I missed your kisses." He placed both hands on her breasts and began to play with them as he soundly kissed her. She was panting and he could see worry in her eyes. "I believe I can feel how much you missed me." Her face was red and he lightly bucked his hips up, her eyes closed and she took a shuddery breath. "I'm not sure how comfortable I am with this, but I could- we could try some stuff?" She but her lip and looked down towards his chest as she spoke.

"Of course we can. Tell me where we wanted me to stop at?" He moved his hands so they were lightly tracing patterns on her back.

"It was just everything at once? I felt much to warm and overwhelmed." She hid her blushing face in the crook of his neck. "I liked the feelings, but maybe one at a time?" She paused for a moment before gently moving her hips. "We could do this, but not with everything else? Maybe some kissing as well? Just um not to much at once?" She covered her face in her hands. "I really hope that made sense."

"Perfectly." He moved her hands from her face and placed them on his chest, "You however may touch at you leisure." He kissed her while holding her hips and grinding against her, aware of how well she could probably feel him in his loose pants and her dress open over their legs. She lightly raked her nails across his back and he twitched in response. She rubbed against him and gave a moan as he lightly nipped her neck. "Audrina, dear if you keep rubbing against me like that I fear I'll need new pants." She kept up her pace of sliding her hips and trailed kisses from his collarbone up to his earlobe, then peppered along his jaw to finally kissing his lips again. His breathing was getting heavy and she loved seeing the way his face flushed down to his chest. She curled her fingers in some of the hair there and lightly bit his neck. "I can't hold it much longer." She reached back and placed his hands on her hips, grinding faster against him.

His grip tightened and he took control of rubbing against her, he leaned forward and began biting and sucking on her neck, kissing her hard, and kissing what little skin she did have shown. He sped up for a moment and threw his head back, his teeth clenched together and then he slackened. He looked down when she got up off of him and sat back down on the couch. He had a large stain over his sleep pants and mildly grumbling got up to clean himself off.

When he came back he noticed she was gnawing on her lower lip and twisting her hands. "Audrina? Did something happen while I was away?" She nodded and he could see the tears in her eyes. "What's wrong dear?"

"I was attacked one day coming home from work. Usually I take the car to and from work, but it was getting fixed that day, so like an idiot I walked home alone." She gave a shudder. "Four men grabbed me and they tied up my arms and gagged me. I managed to escape and thankfully Scarecrow was out that night." She could hear a sharp intake of breath and glanced over to see Edward pale and wide eyed, those usually focused green eyes held hints of fear behind them. "He ignored me then in favor of the men chasing me, but he took me to his hideout and-" She started crying. "He touched me, he had complete command over me and I feel sickened that part of me liked it." Edward placed his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. "The worst part was that he recorded it on video."

"Crane and I will be having a little chat once he escapes, just so you know." She gave a nod and wrapped her around him. "Since I'm all healed up now, let's go on a small field trip."

"To where hun?"

"To visit the hideout of a doll never to be played with but who can only do their job while standing." Edward walked into his bedroom, Audrina trailing behind him. He changed into his costume and turned to Audrina with a smirk on his face. "Would you like to try on a costume again dear?" She just shook her head with a smile.

They left the hideout and started walking, Audrina clinging to the arm not holding his cane. "We're going to Scarecrow's hideout? Is that safe to do E-Riddler?" She tried to remember not to call him by his name while he was publicly out in costume.

"I know all his traps, and we should move quickly. He'll be out any day now." She nodded and tried to keep pace with his long strides. They got in without a problem, she looked worriedly around and froze at the sight of several pieces of rope still on the ground of his office. "That's where he cut you free, isn't it?" She nodded and clutched his arm tighter. "I'll check over his computer. You don't have to watch it with me." He walked over to the desk, checked to make sure there were no surprises and turned on the computer. He found a file labeled Audrina. Most of it were word documents with dates of each session, but there were several videos. 'Confession', 'Flashback', and the newest one simply labeled 'Scarecrow'. He clicked on the file and Audrina knelt down and covered her ears. Praying and hoping to not hear that one moment of pleasure she had out loud. She could see Edwards grip on his cane tighten as he watched.

"He sexually assaulted you!" He swung the cane, smacking the wall behind the desk, there was now a hole in the wall, Audrina flinched just out of his vision. He struggled to calm his breathing. The footage was so clear, he could see the beads of sweat on Audrina's face. He almost wished Scarecrow had taken his mask off and he could see the expressions he'd had. He placed his hands on either side of the desk, closed his eyes and took some deep breaths to calm himself.

"It was Scarecrow, not Doctor Crane!" She gave a sob and curled up into herself. "I'm so sorry though! I am so sorry my love."

"What do you feel sorry for Audrina? He knelt next to her and looked into her deep eyes.

"You saw the tape, you heard my- my betrayal."

"It's normal to feel pleasure. That fact that you did not consent to it is what angers me. Not the moans and him doing the same things I do to give you pleasure. Your body reacted, but not your mind. That's what's important."

"Yes love."

He lifted her from her sitting position and they left the empty hideout, walking back to Riddlers. He kept one arm around Audrina and the other holding his cane. When they entered his he guided her to the couch. "Now Audrina, do you want to talk about what did arouse you or would you rather set that aside for another time?"

She looked up at him, her face flushed with shame and instead looked to the side as she spoke. "It was the commanding tone." She ran one of her hands through her hair, twisting it as she continued to speak, "I um, I actually liked being touched while restrained. I don't understand why though but after that incident I was-" She bit her lip and quickly glanced at Edward, he was watching her with his complete attention. She blushed and looked at her hands, pulling them out from her hair. "I was, well my body was-. Gah. This is embarrassing! I feel like I betrayed you!" She buried her face in her hands.

He leaned back on the couch and knew what she meant, he could tell even from the video and knowing her. "Audrina, get up. We're going to try something new today." She raised her head up and looked at him in confusion. He lowered his voice and looked right at her. "Stand up and walk to my bedroom Audrina." She gave a nod and with confused eyes walked to the door. He stood up to follow her and opened the door. "Now go stand next to the bed. Remove your dress." She walked over to the bed, noting the green sheets and how soft they looked. She took a steadying breath and started to unbutton her dress. "Stop." She stopped mid button and looked up at him. He walked over to her with a smirk and continued unbuttoning it for her. He loved how her purple lacy bra looked against the warm tones of her skin, he continued all the way down, smirking at the matching panties and he pushed the dress off her shoulders. "Step towards me."

He looked down at her brown eyes, wide with desire and looking right into his own green eyes. He tucked two fingers under her chin, tilting her head up before he dipped his own down to meet her lips. When he pulled away he leaned towards her ear, "Is this the commanding you were talking about?" He stepped forward and pressed himself against her his hands tracing over her back and one grabbing her butt.

"Yes." It came out more like a whimper. "I, I don't think I'm ready for everything though." He gave a nod and moved one hand onto her shoulder.

"Kneel." She did so, looking up at him, he noticed how she handn't even pulled off her heels. "There is a step forward we could take. Do you think you can try it?" He started to unbuckle his pants, the whole time watching for her reaction. He knew to continue when her tounge flicked out to lick her lips. He sat down on the bed and pulled his pants and boxers down, stroking himself as she watched.

"I don't know if you've sucked cock before, but you will now. Crawl over here and put your mouth over it." She crawled over, her eyes on him, watching him grow and harden before her eyes. She opened her mouth and placed it over, closing her maroon lips around his cock. "Now, I'm going to place my hand on your head just to guide you. Stop if it gets too much and pull back when you feel yourself gag. I want you to suck and move your head back and forth." She gave a small nod that she understood and began to move back and forth with his hand wrapped in her hair. "Try not to use teeth." She gave another small nod and continued her ministrations.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, focusing on the feeling of her warm mouth and the tight suction she was creating. "Faster and focus a bit on the head." He gave a groan and bucked his hips when she did as he told her. His breathing hitched and he moaned when she decided to twirl her tongue around him. "Now take one of your hands and wrap it around the base. Move it with your mouth." He gave another groan and tightened the fist in her hair. "Faster." He bucked his hips again and held her head in place as he gave a long moan and orgasmed. He flopped back and popped out of her mouth. He took a moment to catch his breath. "Swallow what you can and come up on the bed with me.

She swallowed and with her finger wiped up what did escape her mouth and licked it up. She stood up and looked over Edward before sitting next to him on the bed. His pants were around his ankles and his shoes were still on. His top half was still immaculate, button down, tie, and coat all still on. Audrina sat on the bed next to him and ran her fingers through his hair as he caught his breath. "That was something I enjoyed doing."

He gave a tired smirk and sat up, looking over himself. "Could you be a dear and get me a damp towel? I need to clean up a bit before I can get redressed." He gave a short laugh. "I have lipstick on me." She gave a little giggle and walked over to his connected bathroom, him enjoying the view of her walking in just her underwear and heels. She returned with the damp towel and handed it to him. He cleaned up and stood up, pulling himself back together. "How would you like me to return the favor Audrina?" He stood up and traced his fingers around her lace panties, noticing how wet they were. "I could use my mouth like you did, or I could use my fingers?" He ran his fingers across, making her gasp and shudder.

"I'm not familiar with either Edward." He ran his fingers back and forth making her moan. "I need." He pressed his fingers against her and made a circular motion and she had to grab his shoulders to keep from falling. "Oh dear god anything please." She was gasping and he smirked and he wrapped the other hand back in her hair again and kissed her. He maneuvered her to the bed and pushed her to lie down. He knelt down on the side of the bed and gently kissed her though the lace, savoring the whimper she gave before he pulled down her underwear. He switched between using his fingers and his tongue to trace around her memorizing every line, every fold. He looked up at her, watching her squirm and gasp and try to calm her breathing. He ran his fingers over her slit and used two of them to open her before pressing his mouth against her and licking her up inside. "Edward!" She gave a sharp shout and grabbed his hair with her fingers.

He stopped and lifted his head slightly. "Was that too much?"

"No, it just felt surprisingly good." Her whole face was turning red. "Could you um?" He gave a smirk and dove right back in. She kept her hand in his hair, lightly scratching his scalp and one hand clutching and unclutching the bed sheets. "More, please?" She whimpered. He complied and slid a finger in, she gave a moan and he could feel her tighten around just the one finger. He slid it in and out, occasionally curling it and continued licking, kissing, and sucking on her. Her hands moved to both grabbing the sheets and her hips bucked as her back arched. He smirked to himself as he continued to finger her through her orgasm.

"And now my dear, we have both performed oral sex on each other." He pulled her underwear back up over her and lifted her dress from the ground, handing it to her as he sat next to her on the bed. "Was that to your satisfaction?"

"I don't think I've had any experience quite like that." She still laid on the bed in her underwear trying to catch her breath. "It was, very pleasureable to say the least." She slowly sat up and pulled it over her shoulders and started to button it up.

He turned and looked at her in slight confusion. "Do you mean to say you've never had an orgasm before?" It surprised him, surely sometime she must have had pleasure or even tried by herself?

She turned her head towards him, her purple hair in disarray and lipstick smudged. "That's what an orgasm feels like? Wow. And we could have that without-" she motioned between them, "moving past my comfort zone?"

"Audrina my dear, you have been denied so much in your life and you will learn everything I can teach you at your own pace. Having never experienced an orgasm is just another crime placed against you." She gave a giggle as she stood up to fix her dress. "I do mean it. I will show you so much at your pace." He stood up next to her and gave her a kiss, he could still taste himself in her mouth and was sure she was now tasting herself as well. "Now lets go clean up some more." he guided her back towards the bathroom and washed his hands, moving to brush his teeth as she moved to wash her hands. He spat in the sink and using a clean washcloth wiped his face a bit. He gave a frown in the mirror and started to shave his face. She completely wiped off her lipstick, not bothering to try and fix it. "Now, what shall we do with our day?" He patted on some aftershave, turned and gave a smirk to the blushing young woman as she brushed her long purple locks.

"Why don't we check in on Query and Echo? I've heard you mention them many times, but I always seem to miss them." Audrina smiled up at him, knowing why he was avoiding them meet by the rising blush on his face. "I don't mind if they're the type to hang off their friends love."

He gave a chuckle. "Alright. They are wonderful companions."

She wrapper her arms around his as they walked out. "Should I be jealous?" She gave a giggle and leaned her head against his arm.

"Not at all, because you love me." He picked up his phone with a smirk towards her and made a call "Diedre! Is Nina with you? How would you feel for dinner out tonight? 6pm? It'll be four of us. Yes you two finally get to meet Audrina. I was thinking Italian, but if you two want somewhere else just send me a text. Alright, I'm looking forward to it." He swiped the phone and ended the call. He gave a smile and looked down at Audrina. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to join in costume?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "I can check the costumes I designed and let you pick tonight. How does that sound?"

He lit up like a child on Christmas as they headed towards her apartment. They walked in and she headed straight towards the guest room. "I really need to work on converting this soon. Amber will be coming back in the summer to get ready for college." He turned and went towards her bedroom, she looked at him with a confused smile. "What are you doing Edward?"

He turned to her with a smirk. "I'm picking out what you get to wear tonight, right? So that means I get to pick out what you wear underneath as well." With that he continued walking into her bedroom. She just sighed and rolled her eyes, going into the guestroom to pull some outfits she'd made out of the closet and bring them over to her bedroom for Edward to choose.

She grabbed the first one he'd seen her in, it looked like it would be for much more formal occasions but she still grabbed it anyway. She pulled out a corset she'd redesigned and added a draped skirt to, both green with lots of small question marks on them. She then pulled out a third outfit, this being a tea-length sleeveless purple dress with a short green overcoat with question marks. Then she pulled out the last one that actually matched his costume quite well, she had her purple blouse with maze patterns, a solid green vest, green slacks, and a purple tie with a question mark on it. With all of the outfits bundled in her arms she walked over to her bedroom where she could see Edward looking through her lingerie. "Here are the choices hun." She laid them out and sat down in her chair while he looked at them.

He picked up the skirted corset. "You are most definitely wearing this when we are alone sometime!" He gave a smirk and held it out to her. "In fact, we're alone right now. Put it on." She unbuttoned her dress enough to step out of it then loosened the lace in the front, unclipped the metal hooks in the back and put it on. "Turn around." She bared her back to him and he did up the clips quickly. "Again." She faced towards him. "Tighten it to a comfortable level." She pulled the lace and tied it off, weaving the lace back into the pattern to hide it. "God those make your breasts look fantastic." He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a kiss. "Oh yes, you will be wearing this sometime. Not for a first impression with the girls though. No, no." She started to undo the corset. "Leave it on until I say so." Her hands quickly went to her sides.

He looked over the other three, "Too formal, but if Penguin throws a party you will wear that one. Simplistic and shows without being over the top." He gave a short laugh as he looked at the last. "Oh if I ever have you on a heist you will wear that one." He picked up the second dress. "You will wear this one, with a corset under it. God they push up your chest so much." She nervously shuffled her feet while tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"They tend to show the scars as well. Are you sure you don't mind them?" She ran her thumb over the burn scar on her breast, flinching at the memory of the boiling water being thrown. She'd been lucky and managed to block most of it with a cookie sheet, but it meant her fingers got burnt and the boiling water slid down onto her chest. She was pulled out of the memory when Edward picked up her hand and kissed it.

"Audrina. There is not a scar on your body that would turn me away from you, and if anyone says anything about it- I'll have Jon fear gas them." He said with a shrug. "Or tell Two-Face their harassing someone because of a scar." His shoulders started shaking. "I'll go with that one. That sounds like it would be fun."

"That sounds like it would end up as a brawl." Audrina deadpanned.

"They're fun to watch. Sometimes, if you're betting." He let go of her hand and picked up a dark green corset she had hanging in her closet, placing it on top of the dress, then walked over to her underwear drawer. "Ah ha!" He pulled out another purple pair of panties, still lace but with a little bow on the front. "Toss on some heels and it completes the outfit!" He looked at his phone for the time. "Though, we do have some time for a little more enjoyment before we see the girls." He tossed the panties onto her clothes and ran his hands over her sides. "We could have some more fun?" He stepped behind her and started nipping at her neck.

"Edward, what do you mean? We've already done things once today and you had release twice." She ducked her head and turned red but did nothing to stop him.

"Exactly. We have to make it even." He moved in front of her again, pulling her into a kiss before kneeling in front of her. He ran his fingers up and down her legs as he looked up at her. Her eyes were wide behind her glasses and she was taking shallow breaths. He bent down and kissed her thigh where the skirt ended. He gave a smirk when he heard a gasp. "We could try a second finger even." He kissed up her thighs, pushing the skirt behind his head.

" _No._ " She stepped back, almost tripping as Edward moved away. " _No no no_. **Too much!** " She kept backing up and he didn't know if he should hold her or help her in someway until she stepped wrong and he watched her heel snap. He dove forward as she fell to the side. He pulled her up off the ground, setting her on her chair and looked at her ankle.

"Well good news, it's completely fine. You're just down another set of heels." He paused and looked at her shoe with a frown. "How do they break so easily?"

He watched her roll her shoulders forward and turn her head away from him. "I buy them second hand." He looked up at her in surprise.

"Why? You live comfortably, you should be able to easily afford new heels."

"I've had these heels since I was married. I had to pinch pennies back then." She gave a frown and began to loosen the corset. "Nothing could be new for me because I didn't contribute. Nevermind I couldn't work without his permission even with a business and communications degrees." She undid the clips on auto pilot still talking to herself. "I was good for only sex. I don't want that again." She curled her arms around herself and she started getting dressed in the clothes Edward had chosen. "Worthless. Just made to be tossed away." She pulled the jacket on and pulled her hair out of it, letting the long locks fall down her back. "Life keeps trying to find a way to kill me yet somehow I'm still alive."

Edward cautiously stepped towards her. She was staring at one spot on the bed not blinking or moving. "Audrina?" Her head turned so quickly he could hear the bones crack. He took a small step back, her eyes were unfocused and her face was completely void of emotion. "Audrina." She blinked and a frown appeared on her face. "Audrina. You need to focus on the here and now." He watched her shake her head and look around. "Are you with me?" He took another step towards her, holding his hands up. "Audrina?"

She gave him a small smile. "Sorry Edward. I-" She paused and pursed her lips. "I think I need to take my meds." She turned and walked towards the bathroom, he followed and looked into her medicine cabinet. There was a full row of pills. As she ran her hands over the bottles to grab the right one he suddenly thought of Arkham where they force you to take the medications. He gave a small shudder and watched her take two pills, close the bottle, open another, and take one. "I had forgotten to take them when I got your message in the mail." She rubbed one arm and looked at his reflection in the mirror instead of him. "I tend to shut down and autopilot after a panic attack without them."

He pulled her into his arms. "You don't need to be ashamed for your illness. Never be ashamed of it." He gave her a kiss on the forehead. "We should head out soon. I expect Nina and Deidre will be waiting for us." He guided her out of the apartment and to her car. "I don't suppose you mind if I drive?" She shook her head and got into the passenger seat, clicking herself in as he turned the ignition.

They drove to the italian restaurant in a comfortable silence, Audrina leaning her head against the window and Edward humming along with the radio. She had it set on the 'oldies' station. They arrived at the restaurant and Audrina smiled and stepped to the side as two women threw themselves at Edward, clinging to his arms and kissing his cheeks. He blushed and she bit her lip to keep from laughing as she realized they left lipstick marks on him. "Love you've got a little something on your face." She couldn't help it and started laughing. The other two women just looked smug as they held an arm each. She mockingly put her hands on her shoulders and looked at the three of them, "Well since his arms are occupied, who shall I be on the arm of tonight?" The dark haired one held an arm out for her and Audrina looped hers through.

She turned towards Audrina as they walked in. "You don't seemed bothered at all by us."

Audrina looked at her in confusion. "Why would I be? He's happy and knows he's loved around you two."

She looked up at the bright smile on Edwards face and back down at Audrina. "Any girl he's tried to date usually gets jealous or tries to change him. You don't mind all this?" Audrina just shook her head. The four of them sat down at a table. Edward sitting across from Audrina with Nina and Diedre. The dark haired one turned towards Audrina. "I don't think he's told you which of us is who, but I'm Nina, that's Diedre." She pointed towards the blonde who reached over to touch her hand.

"It's so nice to finally meet you two! I've heard Edward speak a lot about you." They seemed surprised at how kind Audrina was to them. "I heard you two even helped break him from Arkham a few times?"

Diedre spoke up, "Of course, we always have to save Riddler! He's boss but he can be over-dramatic at times." Edward squawked in protest as Nina joined in and they told her all about the times they had to pull him out of situations. Audrina smiling and listening in the whole time. They even told her over their meals and wine how they first met RIddler. Sticking him up right after he robbed a place. "He even had that dorky green jumpsuit on too!" His partners in crime threw their heads back in laughter. They probably would have gotten dirty looks, but no one wanted to mess with Riddler or his Henchgirls.

Edward watched Audrina as she listened to the stories, laughing along and being a perfect audience for the two women he held dear. She wasn't jealous at all, she didn't mind the causal touches they would place on his hands or running along his arms. "You love me." It just popped out of his mouth, he barely realized he said it until he saw Audrina's eyes soften and turn towards him.

"Of course I love you. What is there not to love?" She placed a hand on either girl. "We should do this more often. I'll even give you two my phone number and we could all chat sometime."

Diedre gave her a shark-like smile, throwing down for their final test for Riddler's new girl. "Does it bother you that we've slept with him?" She turned towards Riddler who turned red and put his face in his hand.

"Audrina I know what you're going to say please for the love of God do not-"

She cut him off with a smirk and a giggle. "He's slept with my sister, why should I be bothered he slept with either of you?" She laughed at the shocked look on both their faces. The two of them turned towards Edward.

"Boss- you didn't-"

"It was a moment of weakness!"

"Sisters? Hot damn!"

"She seduced me as well! It was a mutual fault."

"And she's cool with it?"

"It was one time!" He gave a huff and glared at the women on either side of it. "She was curious about things and I may have been walking around shirtless and a few kisses may have progressed from there." He looked across at Audrina who was trying to hide a smile as she drank her wine. "You are going to keep trying to embarass me with this aren't you?"

"Love, I told you, I forgive you for cheating on me." He visibly flinched at the word cheating. "But if I can make you flustered and off balance with that fact. I will, also it shows two these two important women in your life that I am in no way intimidated by their presence. It's a win-win."

"Darling, sometimes I think we're corrupting you. Right now, that response proves it. Subtle revenge." He nodded his head. "Nice." He paid the bill and they all got up. He walked over to kiss her. After he did she waved the air in front of her face.

"Garlic breath." Was all she had to say. He chuckled and moved to kiss her again, laughing as she dodged. "Noo, no garlic breath!" He caught her around the waist and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"I got your cheek, that counts. 2 garlicky kisses for you."

Nina and Deidre smiled at eachother and Nina pulled out a box of mints. "Here boss." He took one with a smile, she offered to Audrina who did the same. They all took a mint and walked away chatting together. Deidre grabbed Edward from behind and he stopped walking as she laid her head against his back, Nina moved to hold his front and Audrina just kept her head laid against his arm. "We've missed you boss."

"I've missed both you girls as well." For a moment they all stood there, the three women holding onto Edward and letting him feel how much they loved him. "Audrina, do you mind if I head home with them tonight?"

She let go of his arm and took a step back. "Not at all, but I will need my car keys back then." He pulled them out of his jacket pocket once Nina moved away. "I hope you all have fun catching up. I should be heading to bed. It's going to be busy at work tomorrow." She stood on the tiptoes and Edward leaned down to give her a kiss. "Goodnight you three." She said with a smile as she walked away to her car. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if I am not portraying Query and Echo correctly. I always see them as jealous and then shoved off to be forgotten about.


	10. The price of being a PA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are perks and downsides of being the PA to Bruce Wayne

Audrina walked into Mr. Wayne's office to find him asleep on the desk while Nuan sat in a smaller desk typing away. She gave a soft smile and put a cup of coffee on his desk, making sure it was out of range when he woke up. She then walked over to Nuan. "I've got the files for the mergers in both English and Spanish, but one of the directors is from Korea and doesn't speak much English. Could you translate this for me?" Nuan nodded and took the papers from Audrina. Both of them staying quiet so Mr. Wayne could nap in peace.

She walked around the desk and knelt so she was level with Nuan. "Are you doing alright? No one's harassing you or talking behind your back are they?"

Nuan hid her smile with her hand. "No, I think they don't know what to complain about. I best them in abilities. I'm very helpful." She placed a hand on Audrina's shoulder. "No matter what they say about you though- you are beautiful inside and out." Audrina smiled back and stood up, giving Nuan a nod and walking out the door, being sure to keep it quiet. She then took her desk across from Mr. Wayne's secretary and they locked eyes. Audrina smiled at the woman who just frowned and looked back at her computer.

She pulled out her phone to check her messages while waiting for an email of the Board's approval for a large Christmas donation to smaller charities around Gotham. She smiled at the texts she'd gotten from Nina and Deidre, blushed and saved when she came upon the photo Nina sent of all three of them cuddling naked together. Of course it was only of their top halves, but it was intimate and she thought it sweet that it had underneath 'We need to find a spot for you in here!'. She sent a reply, thanking her for the inclusion but she had issues with sex she was trying to get past and if she wanted more information they were free to ask Edward. She would not mind the cuddling though, assuming all hands stay in safe locations. She saw a text from her sister wondering if she was visiting home for the holiday, she sent a negative as she would be busy with fundraisers and helping with parties.

She looked over at the secretary and gave another smile, it twitching a bit when the woman huffed at her. Audrina honestly couldn't understand why she was always upset with her, but she had an idea of how to extend the olive branch. "Miss Balakrishna, there's an event in two weeks going on, a gala that has many important guests invited. I unfortunately can't attend, would you like to have my invite? I hear there will be some foreign dignitaries around as well, I know you speak Hindi and Telugu."

Balakrishna looked at her confused. "Why are you always so _nice_?" She shook her head and gave a sigh. "I want to hate you like so many others here, but you are nice. To Everyone! From the _kutiya_ who spread the rumor that Mr. Wayne only keeps you around for sex! Even the men who whisper horrible things about us women when they think we cannot hear! You are nice to all of them. **Why**?"

Audrina tilted her head down and her shoulders tensed up a bit before looking up at the woman she only knew the last name of. "It sounds childish and naive, but I will still always believe in the Golden rule. I will always try to be a light in the darkness simply with smiles and kindness. Their words can't hurt me, oh they sting, they sometimes add to the weight I carry on my heart, but I have survived so much that their pettiness will not bother me."

The darker woman gasped. putting her hands to her mouth. "I forgot, the day you were almost kidnapped-"

Audrina cut her off, "Before I even came to Gotham. _I survived_. I was a child of the system until I was _12_ , then I got a family that loved me. After that I married the wrong man and spent five years as his prisoner, five years he owned all of me, and for five years he did **whatever he wanted to me**. If I could survive that until he tried to kill me and the police had to get involved thanks to the hospital staff; well then Miss Balakrishna, I can survive their words." Audrina's voice had gotten thick and she took some deep breaths and closed her eyes for a moment to focus instead on the love and support she now had in Gotham. 

"I appreciate that you say my full last name and don't just shorten it to Bala like so many do here." Balakrishna gave a sigh and ran her fingers through her dark hair. "I should give you my first name. You insist on everyone calling you by your first name. It's Viviktha. Please do not shorten it to Vivi like so many do."

"I never would. It's a beautiful name. Vi-vik-t-ha, did I get it right?" The smile on her face was all the answer Audrina needed. "Well Viviktha, did you still want that invite?"

She gave a laugh, it was rich and deep. Audrina decided she needed to hear that laugh more often. "Of course! I would love that. Thank you." Audrina stood up and pulling an envelope out of her drawer she walked across the room and handed it to her. Vivikatha smiled as she looked at the envelope. "Thank you. This really means a lot."

* * *

  
Audrina went to a Christmas party with most of the Rogues and Edward watched her sit down next to Harley before resuming his conversation with Jonathan. She was wearing the formal dress, he was glad to see her state even if through clothing, that she was his. The two of them had separate conversations, glancing at eachother with small smiles until he noticed that whatever Harley was asking Audrina was making her uncomfortable. He excused himself from Jonathan and started to head towards the two women until he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Wait, so you two have been together for this long and still haven't had proper **_sex_**?" Harley shrieked, causing all conversation to come to a halt as everyone turned to see who she was talking to.

"Well, I mean-" The young woman blushed as she looked at the drink in her hands. She winced as she heard a laugh and knew they had been overheard. She flushed with anger when she saw who had laughed at her, or more so at Edward. " **Shut up Cobblepot! I bet the only women you could get would be paid for!** " She turned towards Harley as she heard laughter surround the bar, "And we do to! I give him oral sex several times a week!" When she realized how deafening the silence was she groaned and placed her head on the bar while covering it with her arms. They seemed to vanish in the mass of curls her hair was.

" _Go Nygma_!" She heard someone, possibly Harvey, shout before several people laughed. Edward sat in the seat next to her and placed a hand on her back while glaring at Harley. She squeaked in fear and scampered off, knowing he wouldn't hurt her, but unsure if that was still the case after broadcasting his sex life to all of their colleagues.

"There's a small list of people you better be. So _remove_ your hand before I hurt you." Audrina muttered out bitterly without even lifting her head.

"Dear it's alright. While I'm sure I'll have to endure some ribbing for Harley's outburst, Oswald will endure much more for your response." She turned her head towards him and gave a soft smile. It grew as he ran his hand through her long purple hair. "Plus I'm sure I'll have to endure much more back slapping and cheers for your response to her." He grinned as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"This is what happens around Harley, propriety goes right out the window." She gave a sigh and leaning back, ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm so sorry for that. You know her dear. She asked how things were and then because she has no boundaries when it comes to that, she asked about our intimacy and kept pressuring me until I admitted that no we hadn't had actual penetrative sex yet and I'm so sorry I'm broken." She hid her face in her hands and Edward pulled her into his arms. He looked over to where Jonathan was watching them and motioned for him to come over.

"Audrina dear, you are not broken. You went through some horribly traumatic experiences after a lifetime of being told to repress everything and are still coping with it all and the fact that you did nothing at all to deserve all that pain." Edward spoke loud enough for the eavesdroppers to hear and for Jonathan to understand why he was called over.

He sat down in Harley's spot and laid a hand on Audrina's shoulder. "Audrina, I've told you before, it is perfectly natural to need to take your time with things. You need to heal, to get past your fears." He started to rub her shoulder but was stopped by Edward's glare.

"Audrina. Why don't you chat with Jervis? He's been nothing but a gentleman around you and I need to have a quick word with Jonathan before joining you." She stood up and gave Edward a quick peck on the cheek. "Also, even though Oswald is hosting the party, a quick two second taze wouldn't go amiss." She gave a giggle and a light swat on his shoulder before walking over to where Jervis was standing.

Edward stared down Jonathan who looked back impassively. "I know you've developed feelings towards her. She is mine, and I do not want to share her. Besides, you'll have her sister in the summer, whatever relationship you have with her."

"You shared Query and Echo. Have you told her about that? About your trysts with Selina? With Harley? With me or _her sister_?" Jonathan leaned forward his steely eyes glinting at Edward.

"She knows alright. We've discussed some of these things before and she's accepted my history. She even knows of the times I've slipped up and given in to desire while flirting with her. She's much to understanding of a woman. She's even told me that if I need more than what she can physically give me that I could go to someone else. She didn't even seem to mind when she walked in on her sister and I! She just closed the door and apparently just asked her sister for all the details. No jealousy, no anger, not at either of us! Just said it was understandable and hoped we had enjoyed ourselves." He paused and grumbled, "Though she did decide embarrassing me was revenge enough."

"She never mentioned that in any of our sessions." Edward leaned on one elbow and laughed.

"Has she ever mentioned her tries at a sex life in any of your sessions?"

"No, that I am a bit glad about. You and I both tend to be jealous men."

"Speaking of jealousy Crane. I saw the video." He gave a piercing green stare into Jonathan's eyes. He could see a moment of confusion before those blue eyes eyes looked almost gleeful.

"Ah yes, the video Scarecrow recorded. I almost wish I was in complete control for that. I admit I would not have gone as far as to touch her in the ways Scarecrow did, but I still would have tasted that skin of hers, laced with tears and fear just exuding off of her." Jonathan gave a dark grin to Edward, "I only wish he'd recorded her screaming. That level of terror was _sublime_."

Edward pounded a fist on the bar, rattling the glasses. He leaned in and grabbed Jonathan's shoulder. "Listen here, you took advantage of Audrina. Of **my** Audrina who ran to you for help. She feels confused over the whole situation and the worst part in her opinion is that she physically enjoyed it. Beneath all that terror, the fear Scarecrow might rape her or maim her, she felt something new and terrifying to her." He turned Johnathan towards him and leaned right in his face. "You will never touch her again unless she permits it. If she ever wants to explore further into what you did to her, I will support her, but never try to molest her as you did before." He growled out, then took a moment to steady his breathing, "I'm sure you've found pleasure in that video and that's the worst part of all of this." He turned and walked away to Audrina while Jonathan scowled and motioned for a drink.

He thought to himself how it was something he hated, abusing others. Sure he had his test subjects, but Audrina was a _patient_ , not a subject. Scarecrow had forgotten that. Scarecrow had crossed a line and Jonathan knew Audrina held a bit of fear towards him now. She hadn't made a session with him since he escaped Arkham. He knew why, he knew she was doing most of her talking one on one therapy with Harley now. From the outburst everyone heard it probably wouldn't continue. He couldn't let her see a regular ordinary psychiatrist, they'd lock her up for being so fine about them. She'd end up in an insane asylum. No, she was a Metahuman. She'd vanish somehow, taken away to be tested on until she broke. He knew her too well, she wouldn't fight back if she lost hope, but if she had hope of Edward saving her, she'd kick and scream and fight every procedure. _He knew what happened to patients like that._ He couldn't let that happen to her. She needed to be treated, but by him. Not some civilian who would lock her up away from them ' _for her own good_ '.

He finished his drink and walked over to the group that now consisted of a bouncy Jervis, a saddened Audrina, Harley being apologetic, and Edward with his arm around her shielding her from everyone else. He sat down next to Harley and reached out to touch Audrina's hands. She gave a small gasp, feeling his cold skin even through her purple gloves. "Audrina. I believe I am long over-due to give you an apology. What Scarecrow did to you was despicable. Deplorable, and I understand if it takes a while to earn your trust back."

She gave him a small smile and wrapped both hands around his, "I trust Dr. Jonathan Crane. I stated it then and it's the same now. I can't bring myself to trust Scarecrow, and that is the reason I have not continued our sessions. I'm afraid of Scarecrow showing up." 

* * *

  
Audrina grasped the folders and papers in her arms, tightening her grip and fearfully looking around the room. She wondered why errands ended up with Gotham villains around so often, but she did have a high profile boss and was in a high profile location. She tried not to scream when The Joker walked passed everyone and looked right at her.

"Why if it isn't Brucy boy's PA!" He gave a grin and grabbed her by an arm, practically lifting her off her feet and making her drop the papers. "I wonder what he'll do to get such a valuable employee back?" He pulled her close to him and whispered in her ear, "Or what Riddler would do for your safety."

She looked around and caught view of several security cameras around the room. She hoped they'd gotten a clear shot of her terrified face as the Joker dragged her out. If they did, then Edward would find her, hopefully Batman would too. If they didn't, she was terrified of what Joker could do to her.

She found herself biting her lip to keep from making any noise from the pain of his grip. She wanted to scream, to fight, do so something but she felt if she tried anything he'd kill her. He threw her into a car and started to drive. She whimpered and curled up into her seat. Her hands couldn't stop shaking, if felt like she couldn't breathe but she could hear herself gasping for air. She turned and looked at the crazed maniac driving her to god knows where and started to scream. He didn't have green hair and white skin anymore, he was beautiful with blond hair, a strong chin, and those buff arms. Those arms that had no problem crushing her throat, those hands that didn't care about cutting into her, that would punch her, slap her around for the fun of it. It wasn't a crazed villain kidnapping her anymore, it was her ex-husband. She started screaming, screaming and clawing at the locked door.

"Shut up you stupid broad!" He took a hand off the wheel and slapped her hard. She took another breath and saw it was the Joker. Just the Joker, he was unpredictable, but until now he'd never hurt her. She just needed to breathe and remember who she was with. She just needed to figure out his plan and stay alive until someone saved her.

"I'm sorry Mr. Joker. I um... I thought you were someone else for a moment." She looked down, not knowing why she was sharing this pain with this madman.

He went still for a moment and looked at her almost sadly. "Someone hurt you real bad?" She curled to the side a bit more and nodded. "There was no joke? No punchline to it?"

"I was weak, he was strong. Everyone loved him and I was the freak with purple hair. I try not to judge Mr. Joker, but the way you manhandled me just brought me back to being with him."

He kept his eyes on the road. "I need you for my plans, but I'll have Harley keep you company. PTSD is no joke. There are somethings that just aren't funny." He shook his head and returned his eyes onto the road. She could almost feel the sadness coming off of him. She sat up in her seat and buckled herself in.

"For what it's worth Mr. Joker, I'm sorry someone hurt you too."

"Dearie, we've all been hurt in this world. We just all find different ways to cope. I find the humor in it all. The whole world's just one big joke and I'll make them all laugh!" He gave a cackle as they kept driving. He turned over to her, "You are going to be part of a great joke, just you see!"

* * *

She sat calmly in a chair, her wrists cuffed together and a chain connecting her to the floor. Harley Quinn leaned against her, chatting while they waited for Joker to finish setting up the camera. He gave a cackle when he had finished and turned towards the two women, one with a broad smile on her face, the other sitting calmly.

"Hey little PA! You've been kidnapped by The Joker, you're supposed to look scared!" Joker shouted when he noticed her calm.

"I suppose I should, but I'm quite confident Mr. Wayne has contacted the authorities and they've used their usual methods to contact Batman, you did kidnap me in the middle of the day in full view of security cameras." She gave a small smile before looking over at Harley Quinn. "Thank you for the chair though. The ground would be rather uncomfortable."

"What do I gotta smack you around or somethin'? Give you a matching bruise? I need a reaction that'll get Batbrain over here for my plans!" He smiled and the flinch and panicked look she gave. "Now keep that reaction or I will hurt you." He turned towards the already recording camera. "Bruce Wayne! I bet you're wondering by now where your little purple haired PA's gone? She's right here of course, keeping us company with her southern hospitality and ready to make a wonderful addition to our lovely family here." He turned towards the two girls and Harley Quinn pulled a jesters collar around Audrina's neck. Audrina flinched violently at the thought of a collar, her eyes squeezed shut and she started gasping for air. Harley paused and made the collar as loose as possible so it settled more on her shoulders.

"Though how she'd fit in the family we still would figure out of course, but just like the Bat family grows, so do I want mine to." He gestured to the right and the camera panned over there. A large vat of chemicals could be seen, bubbling and steaming. "Right here as you see is the same formula used to create me. Of course such a masterpiece takes time, and right now, I'll give Batman an hour before I toss her in." He gave a dark grin towards the camera. "She could turn out like me, or something else could happen. Who knows?" He gave a cackle, "I mean, my lovely Joker serum has never been tested on Meta-humans before. Oops!" He covered his grin with one hand, faking a surprised look. "I forgot we weren't supposed to mention the elephant in the room. People don't really like Meta-humans now do they?" He gave a heavy laugh that shook his whole body and slapped his knee. "Back to you Harls!"

The camera panned back towards Audrina who was warily eyeing the vat with tears running down her cheeks. Harley looked towards the camera and skipped a circle around Audrina. "Come on Bats! We're all waiting for you."

Audrina's gaze finally snapped from the chemicals to the camera. "Please Batman, do not let me go in that." She was struggling to breathe and kept looking off screen to the vat. "I'll drown in there. It's going to drown me rather than change me I just know it!" She voice got panicked, yanking at the chain and Harley had to hold her shoulders to keep her in the seat.

"Hey, calm down! There's an hour before anything happens so don't panic. Okay?" Harley rubbed Audrina's arms and pushed her glasses back up from where they had slid. Audrina gave a tight lipped nod, tears falling down her cheek as she did so. Harley turned towards Joker after he turned off the broadcast. "Puddin' did you have to give out her meta-human status like that? It's going to be hard for her to go back to work after that."

He looked at the two of them, "It was the joke. Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy has a meta-human as his PA, his direct employee! It'll ruin his image." He gave a gleeful laugh, "I do suppose it's a joke that hurts you- what's your name again?"

"Audrina, and I should be glad you didn't announce my relationship with The Riddler, that would have made my life much more difficult than telling all of Gotham I'm a meta-human." She was still shaking and stuggling to breathe, her eyes locked on the vat.

"Audrina, that's a peculiar name isn't it? Oh well. It's also a laugh because they'd have to be stupid not to know there's something off about you. You have natural purple hair for cryin' out loud!" He gave a cackle. "Like it's not obvious you're a freak like the rest of us!" Audrina flinched when he called her a freak.

"I mean, the cameras from when she and Bruce Wayne were shot shows a purple glow coming from her hand and he didn't need to go to the hospital like she did." Harley pipped up. For the next 30 minutes Joker made sure everything was perfect for Batman while Harley tried to calm Audrina down with casual conversation.

"Hey Harls! We need to get her set up for when Bats shows up!" Harley winced and looked at Audrina, mouthing that she was sorry. She unlocked the chain from the floor and had to drag a struggling Audrina towards the vat. She then hooked the chain around a hook and started cranking the chain, lifting Audrina up and Joker used the controls to turn it and they held her about 10 feet from the vat.

Audrina struggled to breathe, looking at the vat, wondering what changed. The last time she was kidnapped by the Joker she was unhurt and now, now she's hanging over a vat of bubbling chemicals. Of course now that she thought about it, she'd been in a group that time and now she's alone. She struggled to just keep breathing and looked around the warehouse, relaxing slightly at the person walking by in green, he was keeping to the shadows and crouching behind crates, keeping an eye on her and watching to make sure Joker didn't see him. She heard glass break and was glad it was opposite side from where Riddler was hidden.

She couldn't see behind her but she screamed when Joker hit the release button and she started to descend. Something swung her to the side violently and she first cried out from slamming into the wall, then started to cry when she realized the chains holding her were now pinned to the same wall. Audrina looked up and smiled when she saw it was a question mark cane the with a pointed end pinning her to the wall. From her new point against the wall she could see Batman fighting Joker and Batgirl ran over to kick Harley, she grabbed the kick and used it to toss her to the ground before pinning her down. She couldn't hear the words between the two of them but Batgirl looked shocked before nodding.

They quickly resumed their fighting, but Audrina could see that Harley was pulling her punches and letting Batgirl get in more than she should. Harley faked a fall and Batgirl quickly cuffed her up and ran to help fight Joker. "Could I be rescued yet? My shoulders and arms are really starting to ache. Also I think something is very wrong with my right arm."

She heard a chuckle to her right. "I seem to like you in that position dear." She turned and saw Riddler leaning against the wall and smirking. "But I will fulfill your request and be your knight in shining armor." He pushed a crate over to her and she was barely able to touch her toes against the top of the crate. He climbed up it and started to pick the lock.

Audrina screamed when Batgirl knocked Riddler off the crate. "Leave him alone!"

"But he's a criminal!" Batgirl looked at her in surprise.

"That criminal is my boyfriend who was trying to let me down while you lot were to busy to actually save the citizen!" Audrina was furious and letting it show, "I was almost in that vat of chemicals before he saved me! If you'd use one iota of your brain you would see the chain is in the vat because the release is still on! He saved me by throwing his javelin cane and keeping me here safe and sound! Now little missy you are going to climb off this crate, help my beau back up and properly apologize right now!" Batgirl flinched at the scolding and meekly climbed back down.

She walked over Riddler where he was trying to pick himself up, it was obvious he'd broken his wrist in the sudden fall. She pulled him up and bit her lip, looking at the ground for a moment. "I'm sorry Riddler. Batman tells us that everything is not always as it seems and I forgot that today. I also forgot to save your girlfriend and that was horrible of me." She looked down at his hand and winced. "Should I keep trying to pick the lock on her chains for you? I don't think you can with one hand."

"Yes. I accept your apology. You are a child after all and rather new to all of this. Release her and bring her back over to me. I can be as light as a feather,and as heavy as a boulder,I come in all shapes and sizes. What am I Batgirl?" He pulled back his sleeve and winced at the swelling and the black bruise.

She climbed on the crate and started to pick the lock, releasing Audrina and helping her jump down. She bit her lip and looked at the ground in thought. "Riddler, would that be guilt?" He gave a nod and smiled as Audrina rushed over to him.

"Batgirl, I'm not sorry for snapping at you, but don't let the guilt of this pull you down. Learn from it and move on." She placed her hands on either side and they started glowing purple. Batgirl gasped as she watched his wrist heal just before her eyes.

"Good job with Harley. We need to let the police know this is all handled." Batman walked up to the trio slowly, trying to hide a limp. He looked at the cane stuck in the wall, then followed the chains with his eyes. "Batgirl, when there's two of us, always make sure we actually save our civilian."

"Batman it's quite alright, she's been chewed out twice and feels quite guilty about it." Audrina walked over and placed one glowing hand on his chest. "There you go. Now could you be a dear and pull Riddlers cane out of the wall?" He gave a chuckle, easily jumped up the crate and yanked the cane right out of the wall. "Thank you!" She walked over and took it from him, twisting it so the spike slid back in. She walked back over to Riddler, eyes only for him and placed the cane in his hands before jumping up to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her and lowered her back on the ground. "I knew you would arrive love." They kissed again.

He looked down at her with a smile. "It's because you love me."

Batgirl turned towards Batman, "So wait, I thought Riddler was a bad guy?"

"Things with the rouges are complicated when it comes to Audrina. She's friends with many of them and they've worked with me to help her. With the Riddler though, it seems he'll do anything to save her." He guided her away and turned towards the couple. "I'd make myself hidden Riddler, the police will be here any moment now."

Riddler let go of Audrina and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I'll see you tonight dear." He gave her another kiss and strolled away to the hidden door he entered in through. 

* * *

She stumbled into her apartment, still exhausted and was surprised to be swept up into a kiss the moment her door shut. She kicked and pulled her taser out before realizing it was Edward. "Edward dear, give a little warning would you?" She put the taser down on the counter before stepping back towards him to kiss him.

"I will endevor to do so in the future. Your heels hurt." 


	11. The Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrina returns to work, but she's not the only one who makes a return

Audrina went back to work, ignoring the whispers and stares. It bothered her a little, but she refused to let it show on her face. In defiance she wore a top with a lower cut, showing some of her scars, the burn over her breast and reaching upwards was the one that stuck out the most with it's much warped texture and different color from the rest of her. She left off the make-up and concealer she always wore. They wanted to brand her a freak, well she would show them what she really looked like.

Vivikatha gasped when she saw Audrina walk up to her desk. She ran out and placed her hands on Audrina's arms. "How have you hidden this everyday?" Her eyes roamed over Audrina. She focused on the slice across her chin and the stab wound on her collarbone. Then she saw the burn on what bit of cleavage Audrina showed. "Oh heavens." Her dark eyes snapped up to Audrina's, she could see the pain. "Buddha will bless you. Your next life will be full of happiness to make up for this one!" She sounded ready to cry as she held onto Audrina.

"Vivikatha, I am a survivor. I survived the events that gave me these scars, I will survive my outing once again as a metahuman." Audrina smiled and gave Vivikatha a hug. "Thank you for your concern. It really means alot to me."

The door opened and Mr. Wayne walked up to his secretary and PA hugging each other with tears in their eyes. "Miss Hernandez." They broke apart and Vivikatha walked back to her desk. "I've known you were a metahuman since the shooting. That does not change your job status at all. I'm still proud to have you by my side and will gladly tell the press that if they try to harass you for being different."

"Thank you Mr. Wayne, but I didn't have control over my power back then. How did you know?" She tilted her head, remembering Harley's words about a purple glow before she passed out from bloodloss. "I instantly healed you that day didn't I?" She gave a small smile. "It's been almost 14 years since I had done that. Of course you weren't- no, no you weren't." She was looking off to the side, he could see she was thinking of an old memory. She turned and gave him a strained smile. "I do hope the other employees and the board members are as accepting as you are."

"Miss Hernandez, I actually would like if you could show your power at the next board meeting. I hope it will calm any of their worries." He gave her a smile, turned and headed back to his office, giving a smile and nod over at Vivikatha before the door closed behind him.

A few hours later into work she saw out of the corner of her eye a blonde man waltz into the room and head straight to her desk. She looked up and her heart felt stuck in her throat, she wanted to scream but nothing could come out. He towered over her desk and he had that predatory grin on his face. "Hello _Amelia_." Her blood ran cold and she reached over, pressing two buttons, the open intercom to Mr. Wayne's office and the silent security alarm. "Amelia Snow, do you know how hard it was to find you? My _wife_ , the person who was supposed to be the other half of my soul." He would always twist things for him, he was always the victim in his mind.

Audrina felt like the air escaped her lungs as she spoke, "That's not possible when you don't have a soul." She heard it before the pain and blurry vision even registered. He slapped her so hard her glasses flew off. Her knees slammed into the side of her desk as the chair swiveled with the slap. She tried not to gasp or cry in pain. It would make things worse.

"That is **no** way for a woman to talk to a man. You will quit this job and come back home with me." He placed both hands on the table and looked over her, she still couldn't look up at his face. Her eyes darted up when she heard the door open.

"Is there a problem Miss Hernandez?" She couldn't speak, she couldn't move. She wanted to scream and she prayed he could read her eyes to see the fear in them. She didn't realize her face was already bruising where David had slapped her. David stepped over to Mr. Wayne and gave one of his charming smiles, playing up the honorable priesthood member card.

"Well there is, Mr. Wayne. See this is Amelia Burgess, my wife and she's been missing for a few years. I finally found her and would like to take her back home with me." He gave one of his wide grins and tried to look like a man excited to find the woman he loved. She knew it was a lie. He wanted only to punish her.

Mr. Wayne's eyes became cold and he drew himself up so he towered over David. "From what I heard, her ex husband tried to _kill_ her several times, the last resulted in _me being shot_ as well by the hitman he hired. Her name legally is Audrina Hernandez, so I suggest you leave because you have the **wrong woman**." Audrina kept her eyes on Mr. Wayne, they kept flicking back to the elevator, wondering when security would arrive. She pressed the button again, praying for help. She knew Mr Wayne had seen it, he watched her and David. It didn't look like he would back down.

"Well there must be a mistake, this is my wife. She may have changed her name but she is my wife-"

Mr. Wayne cut him off. " **Ex** -wife. She was granted a divorce while you were in _jail_."

"She's still **mine**! **Amelia get over here**!" She found herself starting to stand up, five years of conditioning telling her it was best to do as he said.

"Stay where you are. You're safe." Audrina looked over and could see Vivikatha on the phone, quietly requesting security. It was a possible hostage situation, police were needed.

"How-" Both men turned towards her, she paused in fear at the anger in David's eyes. "How did you get out of jail?"

He just gave that same smile that made her skin crawl. It promised pain and bloodshed. " _Easily_." He walked towards her, throwing off Wayne's hand on his shoulder. "You've been very bad. You left your husband, betrayed your church, you've lost the light Amelia." She started walking backwards, she quickly dialed Edward and held the phone by her thigh. "Amelia, you _will_ come back with me and rest assured, you **will** be punished for your dereliction against your husband." Her back hit the wall, she couldn't breathe as he threw his head back and just cackled. "Oh I have so many new ideas for you Amelia." He pressed one arm on the wall above her head and Audrina flinched away when Mr. Wayne suddenly pulled David away.

"She's afraid of you! That is not your wife, that is your **_victim_**." He stood chest to chest with David his broad 6ft 5in frame towering over the buff yet average sized man. "Security is on it's way. Leave Audrina alone."

She screamed "Bruce get back!" David pulled a knife and slashed where Mr. Wayne was, Audrina's shout had given him enough time to jump back out of range. He was shocked when instead of continuing after him, David turned and ran towards Audrina. He pinned her against the wall with one hand and she was gasping for air. He pulled the knife back ready to stab her. She kicked him in the groin and slid down when he doubled over. She turned and tried to crawl away towards her glasses before he grabbed her ankle and sliced her leg. She kicked with her other foot and tried to climb up and she nearly cried when Edward appeared in regular clothes with a brown wig and pulled her up. He pushed her behind him as David pulled himself up. 

"Tsk tsk tsk, my wife has become a whore. _Two_ men try to come to your safety? Perhaps I should just stone you to death for adultery." He gave another cackle, Audrina's fingers tightened around Edward's shirt and he froze for a moment. It sounded so much like the Joker's cackle, this was a mad man. He was beyond redemption.

Security suddenly came rushing in as David charged again with the knife. One of them stepped towards him, grabbed the knife arm and threw him over his shoulder and onto the ground. The man stepped on David's wrist and kept his foot there while another kneeled on his back and searched him. "Mr. Wayne he has a gun along with rope in his jacket and a cloth." She took a quick sniff. "Chloroform." She looked towards Audrina, clinging onto Edward's back. "Who is he?"

Mr. Wayne stepped forward, "This is Arthur Webber, he's the man that occasionally helps out with our software issues. He's also Audrina's boyfriend. She dialed him and he overheard everything and came rushing up." He gave a hard glare towards the four members. " _Somehow_ faster than all of you, even though the silent alarm was pressed _several_ times from both desks."

One of them who had his gun pointed down at David looked up in confusion. "We didn't get anything until Viv called us." He turned towards the woman still frozen at her desk. "The police are on their way."

"My name is Vivikatha, not Viv. Also, what do you mean you got nothing? The whole reason for the silent alarm is so I don't get possibly killed dialing you! I am lucky that maniac was obsessed with Audrina and never noticed me! He could have killed her! Or killed Mr. Wayne, your boss because of this!" She was standing by now, yelling at the man.

Mr. Wayne stepped towards her, "Miss Balakrishna. have faith that I am ordering a **full** investigation as to why this situation was allowed to go on for so long. This is simply unacceptable." He turned towards Audrina and Edward, "Arthur, could you check the desks here and see if there was any tampering?" He gave a nod and stepped over to Vivikatha's desk first. Audrina stood for a moment unsure of what to do as she just curled her arms around herself.

"If you do not mind Miss Balakrishna?" She stepped away and he crawled under her desk. " **What the fuck**?" He climbed out, holding an obviously cut wire. "Miss Balakrishna, has anyone been to your desk recently?"

"One of the men from IT, the one who says horrid things when he thinks no one is listening. He said there was an error with my computer and he had to install some updates on Audrina's. I took my coffee break to get away from him and when I returned he was finished with mine and on Audrina's." She looked fearful and confused.

Edward turned towards Audrina. "Dear, what have you done on your computer today?"

"I had just gotten Word up and started typing up notes for the next board meeting." She seemed a bit calmed and limped over to grab her glasses from the floor. She looked over at Vivikatha and silently asked permission to head back to her, she held out her arms and Audrina let herself be held. Edward noted fleetingly that they were the same height, he had thought Vivikatha was taller, perhaps because she was slimmer.

He gave a frown and walked over to her computer, first pulling out the cut wire just as on Vivikasha's. Then he pulled out a canister and traced the thin, almost hidden tubing up to next to her webcam. His head snapped towards Mr. Wayne. "That IT man needs to be found and arrested. He set up a canister of acid to spray in her face if she typed in a certain command. That's not counting anything he might have put in her computer himself." He frowned and glanced over at Audrina. She was staring at him with tears in her face and had to be held up by the secretary. He looked over her keyboard, then went straight into the programs. For a few minutes, in time for the police to arrive and start pulling David away Edward had found a few viruses, one that would have wiped all her files the moment she hit save, another that would have caused slurs to pop up all over her computer if she accessed the internet.

David started shouting as the cuffed him. "Amelia you day of reckoning shall come! You are _mine_ and **mine** alone! I own every inch of your freakish self! **You'll pay for leaving me whore**! You **will** pay! _You are nothing without me_! You hear me whore? **Nothing**!" He fought and struggled against the police and Commissioner Gordon gave Bullock a nod. As they turned towards the elevator, Bullock tripped and sent David falling forward where he hit his head against the side of the elevator and was knocked out.

Audrina sank to her knees, sobbing at this point. Edward wished he could rush over and pull her up, but he needed to make sure her computer was safe for her. He found another program, mixed in with the acid spray code that would have turned on the webcam. he felt his blood boil that not only did the man want to maim Audrina, he wanted to film it. He gave a shout and slammed his fists on the desk. The commissioner and the officer who was taking statements turned towards him. " **That fuck! I'll kill him!** _No_ , I'll have acid sprayed in his face! See how much _he_ likes the results." He practically growled out the last sentence he was furious. Mr. Wayne explained that he was Audrina's boyfriend and an IT consultant who had discovered that the silent alarms were cut and this entryway was left defenceless because of that. He motioned towards the canister sitting upright on the desk and how it had been set up to spray Audrina in the face.

The officer was still looking at Edward, "Well don't worry sir, we can run the prints and if the crime was because of Miss Audrina's metahuman status, it can and will be a hate crime."

Vivikatha spoke up. "Sirs? I know who did this. It was the horrible man in IT. All the women are afraid of him. Thomas, I do not know his last name. He insists everyone call him Tom. He always talks his way out of trouble because of his brother being in HR. It does not matter who anyone talks to, his brother gets it instead and threatens us until it's dropped. He says horrible things when he thinks no one is listening." She looked haunted, thinking of what she had overheard him say before. "Please, do something. So many of us are afraid." She looked towards Mr. Wayne, he was torn between shock and anger that this could happen within his own company. "I'm sorry I never told you Mr. Wayne, but I feared what they would do to me."

Wayne looked angry. "Commissioner, Officer, I'd like to join you as we head to IT and have a talk with Thomas as you arrest him. I'll also be firing his brother."

Audrina felt numb, David had shown up, gotten past security and somehow had a man on the inside. She wrapped her arms around Edward and laid her head on his back. A small part of her said she'd be better off if one of them were dead. 'Him or me, it would never be the same.' She felt her legs shaking and her eyes prickling. Was she wrong for getting a divorce? Did she deserve what he'd done to her? Everything went dark for a moment and she felt herself being lifted up and someone talking about being in shock.

Bruce was torn, should he stay and comfort Audrina or go and get this whole thing handled quickly? Vivikatha looked at him and waved her hands for him to go as she was calling for their on site medics to check her over. He was glad about pushing the board for including a clinic in each of the main workplaces. He felt if there were perks like employee gyms and a cafeteria, a health clinic incase of work injuries or being ill at work should be included. He left through the elevator doors, looking back as they closed to see Audrina clinging to Edward, trapped in her own mind.

Edward was terrified, Audrina had collapsed and he tried lifting her up but she could not be budged. She wasn't looking at anyone or anything, just staring in space gasping for air and keeping a tight almost painful grip on his arms. "Audrina. He's been arrested again. You're safe for now. They'll find out how he escaped the last time and prevent it this time. They'll lock him up tighter than before." He looked up to see paramedics rushing over to her, he rolled his arm and got one hand of hers released. They measured her pulse and oxygen levels then slapped an oxygen mask on her. The other at the same time pulled off the other arm and wrapped a blood pressure monitor on her arm. They spoke to each other, quick quiet words he would usually be able to pick out and dissect but right now all he could do was stare at her. The color was returning to her face, she blinked and became aware of her surroundings, looking up at Edward who breathed a sigh of relief. The paramedics pulled away and told her to go home and rest. She gave a nod and slowly stood up. She winced and started to fall back down when Edward caught her and the paramedics started to check out her leg.

"It just needs a few stitches. I've got a local anesthetic here and can do it right now if you'd like to just get this over with?" She moved to look Audrina in the eyes and took the small nod as a yes. The paramedic motioned for her partner who started going through the bag and he pulled out a few things, quickly giving her a shot on the leg and started making quick precise stitches. He moved back and the woman quickly moved in place placing a patch of gauze over it and then wrapping it quickly. She looked over at Edward who had been holding Audrina the whole time. "She'll need a cane for a few days to keep some pressure off the leg." As the two paramedics got up to leave, one of them laughed and the woman looked over her shoulder. "She could always borrow one of yours Riddler."

She watched them leave until it was just her, Vivikatha, and Edward. "Let's go home dear." He placed an arm around her shoulders and held her tight while they waited for the elevator to come back up. When it did they stepped inside and she looked up at him while they descended. "Edward, he's always going to come back isn't he? I'm never going to be safe from him will I?"

"I'll see what we can do darling. I will do everything in my power to make sure that man never harms you again." She clung to him as they walked and he took her to his car. "I'll see if Harley or Selina can bring the car back to your place. Or Query and Echo if you'd prefer?"

"I just want to feel safe." Tears were running down her face, she couldn't stop shaking as he guided her into the car and even seatbelted her in.

He pulled his phone out and sent a text to several people. ' _Audrina almost attacked at work by ex who escaped again. Taking her home. She needs friends around to feel safe. Let's make it a get together_.' He received several texts in response and climbed into the car, placing one hand on Audrina's knee while driving her home. When they arrived he pulled her out of the car and guided her in. She hadn't said a word or even looked around the whole time.

He took her key and unlocked the door, not surprised to see Harley, Selina, and Ivy all already there. Ivy was guiding plants over the windows while Harley was in the kitchen and Selina was standing by Ivy, pointing out any weak spots. "Hi-ya guys!" Harley chirped up and she ran around the counter to give Audrina a flour covered hug. Audrina clung to her for a moment before leaning back onto Edward.

"Harley, what are you doing?" She sounded happy and tired at the same time.

"I'm baking a cake! We all want to be here for you hun, and I figured a cake might make things cheerier while Red and Selina make your apartment intruder-proof!" She gave a wink towards Edward, "Though if Eddy heads over to Ivy sometime she'll make it so the plants recognize your specific scent or pheromones and will let you in." She walked back around the counter and gave a small laugh. "Audrina hun I think you might want to change, you've got flour all over you!"

She let herself be guided into the bedroom by Edward, he started to remove her clothes but she slapped his hand away, "I _can't_. _Please_ just-"

"Audrina, You can have me but cannot hold me; gain me and quickly lose me. If treated with care I can be great, and if betrayed I will break. What have I done to lose this in you?" He backed away from her, letting her curl in on herself.

"I trust you Edward. I just. I'm _scared_. I don't know what to do!" She tangled her hands in her hair, pulling at it and bending over. "I'll **never** be free of him! He'll _always_ find me! Because I'm a **freak**! I stand out of every crowd with my purple hair." She fell to her knees still crying and pulling at her hair. Edward grabbed her wrists to stop her from harming herself. "Don't you see? I'm **trapped**. I'm trapped in his mind as his wife and this- this makes me a _whore_. A sinner, an adulterer."

"Audrina. When you're alone I come find you. I'll never leave your side until the day I die. You have _many_ of these, all coming over to help you feel safe. We can plan on what to do about that filth. We just have all refrained from killing him for your sake." He watched her fingers slowly uncurl from her hair and she raised her head to look at him.

Those deep brown eyes locked with his, he could see the swirls of confusion and fear in the specks of amber and obsidian mixed in. "Friends. That's right- I'm not alone." She lowered her hands and leapt forward, hugging him tightly. "I have friends and I have you love. I don't have to handle this alone." She pulled back and gave a small smile seeing he now had flour on his clothing as well. "I floured you dear."

He leaned forward to give her a kiss and stood up, pulling her with him. He pulled her into another kiss and moved his mouth right by her ear. " **Nothing** he said matters, but maybe someday I could de-flour you?" He gave a smirk as she turned red and gave him a small slap on the arm. She started to open her mouth and he grabbed her wrist. "You are free of him. You are _pure_ with his filth gone from you. It is your _purity_ , your _light_ that draws people to you like moths to a flame. Every single person you associate with is a sinner in some way. _Never_ hate yourself for that. He was the monster, he was the sinner, he is the one that is nothing without you." She gave a wide eyed nod even though he knew she didn't fully believe his words. "Now dear, let's get changed and rejoin the group. I'll be sure to remind Ivy to block the balcony exit in this room too."

He released her wrist and he walked to her closet, pulling out his spare Riddler costume he started keeping there. She gave a smile and grabbed a very modest dress to change into. He turned from where he had started to undress. "Dear, you do not have to hide yourself around us all. Put on something that makes you feel confident, not safe. That is our job tonight. We will keep you safe. You dress how you truly want." She gave a small smile and shrugged her shoulders, looking back at the closet. She pulled out a vintage cut emerald green dress that flared out at the hips and had a lace overlay covered in roses on the skirt. She put it on, keeping her front towards the closet, afraid of what Edward would say. He wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his head on her shoulder. "You look lovely."

They walked out and Audrina was surprised to see her living room packed with people. Harley was holding up a cake proudly while Nina and Diedre were mixing some drinks for everyone else. Ivy was smiling at Harley's cake while Selina was conversing with Nuan. She smiled at seeing all these people around her. Harley placed the cake down and rushed over to hug Audrina, Edward placed a hand out to stop her. Audrina laughed at the cloud of white powder that appeared when they collided.

"Oh yeah! I should clean this up!" She gave a laugh and grabbed a wet washcloth to wipe herself down with. She turned to chat with Selina and Nuan after she'd cleaned up and given Audrina a hug.

The two of them walked over to Ivy. "Thank you-"

"You also need to block the bedroom." They spoke at the same time and both Ivy and Audrina gave Edward a look. "Also, thank you Ivy for the use of your wonderful defense system to take care of Audrina." He rolled his eyes as he said it. Audrina elbowed him. "What? She knew you appreciate what she's doing!"

Ivy just gave a smirk. "Men." She looked down at Audrina, "Your bedroom has a balcony window as well?" Audrina nodded, "Alright, I'll get to work on that. Edward give me your hand." He warily did so and she dragged him over to the vine and ivy covered windows. "Now stay here and let them get to know you."

He eyed the plants with mild distrust as Ivy walked away. He watched the plants twitch around him and almost sense him. He looked over at Audrina being talked to and given drinks by Nina and Diedre. He almost forgot the plants around him as he thought of how happy all his girls got along. He wondered how the four of them would work. Nina and Diedre were his partners, sure they were with each other long before they found him, but they had history together and he wondered how they felt about his perusal of Audrina without even letting them know until after. Ivy walked out of the bedroom and waved him towards her, he obliged her and walked up where she was leaning against the doorway. "I thought _you_ might want to see this instead of Audrina. It was slid in the doorframe of her balcony." Her green eyes swept the room and flicked back up to his. "The snake has been spying on her. He won't get her while she's in this apartment though."

Edward looked down at the picture Ivy had handed him. It was the two of them together in her bedroom. He was kissing her while she was pushing his shirt off of him. His sharp eyes narrowed, it was taken from an angle, the photographer had been on the roof of one of the nearby buildings on the left side. It wasn't the one next to hers, the angle was too much from the side. The only thing you could make out of it being Audrina in the picture was the purple hair and the bruise on her arm. It was taken weeks ago, he remembered that bruise. She'd gotten her leg caught climbing out of her car and fallen on her right arm hard. It had been purple for the first two days then turned that sickly green-yellow. He felt the thickness of the paper and rubbed his fingers, there was a second picture. A zoomed in photo of her falling out of the car. His head snapped up from the pictures to Ivy. "I will find whatever group he is working with and kill them all."

Ivy looked around at the room, watching all the women interact together seeing how all of them had some connection to the small bright woman with purple hair. "He's _obsessed_ with her Nygma. I don't think he'll stop until either she's his or he's dead." Her eyes locked with his. "Could you do that? **Kill** her ex husband? She doesn't seem like she would condone killing someone for her sake."

"Audrina's too selfless. I don't know what I'll do with her husband, but at the very least he's going to be a test subject for Jon."

"Where _is_ Jon by the way?" She asked with thinly veiled curiosity. 

Edward gave a smirk and glanced down at Ivy before looking back at Audrina, she was laughing and being held onto by Diedre while Nina was telling them a funny story. "You will _not_ believe me when I tell you."

"Well now I _absolutely_ have to know. Where has our dear Master of Fear gone now?"

"To Utah." He bit back a laugh as she whipped her head around to face him.

"You don't mean?"

"Oh yes I do Ivy. He's visiting Amber." Ivy still looked shocked. "They seem well suited. I've texted him and right now they're both looking for leads on how the snake escaped from the prison there. When they're not sneaking around to have sex under the noses of her family." He gave a small laugh. "She's got a sadistic side to her, not as big as her masochistic side, but she can be _sadistic_." He glanced at Audrina again, making sure she was out of earshot. "You know why I was locked up the last time I was in Arkham right?"

"Rumor mill said it was you killed the man who actually shot Audrina and Wayne." Ivy pushed off of the frame she was leaning against and stood up fully. "You _didn't_ did you?" He shook his head with a smirk. "You don't mean?" He nodded, "She looks so innocent. She really killed that man?"

"I was with Batman and Harley at the time of death. They're the only two that know I took the fall for someone, they don't know who though." He gave Ivy a hard glare. "Audrina will never know what her sister did. It's why I took the fall. She would believe I'd kill the man who shot her, she didn't approve, but she understood. Amber though? This is her kid sister. I won't be the one to shatter that for her."

Ivy placed a hand on her chest and looked at Audrina. "I can understand why. She needs to know from Amber herself that she's a killer." She looked up at Edward again. "She doesn't even suspect?"

"Not as far as I know."

"Good."

"We should rejoin everyone. I for one need to see why Audrina can barely stand already." 

Ivy gave a smirk and traced a finger over his jaw. "I thought it was your job to make it so she couldn't walk." 

He gave a frown towards her. "Things haven't changed. Audrina's not ready for that yet and I won't push it." He turned his head to hide his rising blush. "However much I would like things to progress, it's her choice what pace we take." Ivy turned his face towards him, searching his eyes for the truth. She gave a nod and walked over to Harley. He gave a huff and walked towards his three girls. "Nina, Diedre, what have you two been doing to Audrina? Audrina you can barely stand." It was true, she was being almost completely held up by Diedre. 

"Well boss we just wanted to loosen her up so we had a few drinks." Nina smiled up at him. He could see she was hiding something.

"How strong were her drinks? Double? Triple?" He lifted Audrina off of Diedre and she tucked her face in his neck.

"You smell good love." Her words were slurred and she tried and failed to lift her arm.

"They were barely double boss. We don't know why they hit her so hard! She's had this much with us before." Diedre answered, stepping next to Nina.

"In such a short amount of time? After she's had a traumatic experience and panic attacks?" He scolded them both, and he could tell it sunk in from the way their shoulders slumped. "I'm going to put her to bed. She trusts you two so all three of us will sleep next to her tonight. She wants to be safe and we will make her feel safe. Alright ladies?"

They both smiled and replied in unison, "Yes boss!" The four of them walked to the bedroom, Edward ignoring any smirks or knowing looks. They didn't know just how delicate she really was. He placed her in her bed and unzipped her dress to pull it off and change her into one of her nightgowns. He placed her in the middle and curled around her back while Nina wrapped herself around Audrina's front, wrapping her legs between hers and Diedre held onto her after pulling a comforter over the four of them. 

Audrina mumbled from her spot near the middle before completely passing out. "Thank you loves."


	12. The morning after

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amber and Jon find out how David got out of prison in Utah, Audrina's called to heal again, Edward searches for how he escaped in Gotham

Audrina woke up surprised by how warm she was. She slowly blinked her eyes open as she realized there were four arms around her instead of two. She looked at the tan chest in her face and tilted her head up to see Nina in front of her, she looked to see a pale feminine arm that must be Diedre, she felt a pair of arms curl tighter around her and knew it was Edward holding her. She felt him shift slightly and yelped as he fell to the floor and she went sliding over the edge with him. She rolled off of him as he groaned in pain. "I don't think the bed was built for four people." She said as she looked at the two women who jumped up and peered over the edge. "Good morning. Did you two sleep well?" They gave a laugh and nodded.

Audrina's phone went off and she looked down at it. " _Jervis snuck up on Croc and got a bad bite, can you heal him_?" She replied in conformation. " _Great, someone will be at front door in 2 minutes._ "

She got up off the bed and started to change into a pair of jeans and a button down shirt. Nina gave a laugh as Diedre helped Edward off the floor, "Jeans today? We're actually out of the dresses?"

"Jervis is in the sewers and was bitten by Killer Croc, he needs healing and I'm not wearing my dresses in the sewers." She then pulled on a pair of galoshes and pulled her hair into a ponytail, heading out of the bedroom as someone knocked on the door. It shouldn't be long, I've got an escort." Nina shot out of bed, pulling her pants and socks on then slipping into her heels.

"You're getting a second escort while those two continue sleeping." She pointed at Diedre and Edward who had both fallen back to sleep. The two women walked to the front door and opened it to reveal a blonde hair blue eyed woman with a black hairband just staring at them. Her eyes were oddly blank and emotionless. She picked up Audrina's hand and started to walk down the hallway, Nina following behind. "Looks like he got another Alice." She frowned as she walked behind them and the three women came up to a sewer grate. Audrina knelt down and tried to lift it. The 'Alice' helped her and the two of them got it open enough to see Killer Croc at the bottom.

"Hello Croc, you'll show us where Jervis is, right?" He gave a quick nod, wringing his hands and looking back behind him. Quick as a whip Audrina turned around and yanked the headband off the young woman's head.

Her eyes started to focus and she looked around. "Where am I?"

Audrina looked at her, "Away from Mad Hatter, now go home and be glad he got injured before he could take you to Wonderland." Her lips were pressed together tightly and she waved off the girl who tried thanking her. "Go **home**. You must be in your teens. I'm sure your parents are worried." That seemed to make the blonde realize what happened and she turned and ran. The two remaining women climbed down and Audrina looked up at Croc. "Where to then?"

"This way, honest I was underwater and didn't smell it was him until I smelled the blood. I thought it was just some idiots wanting to find me. I didn't realize he was using it to escape with his new Alice." He lifted his head and sniffed, looking back at them. "Where _is_ the girl?"

" **Free**." Audrina spotted the small form lying on the cement in a crumpled heap. "Oh dear." She ran towards him, he fingers going straight for the artery to feel his pulse. She gave a sigh of relief and placed her hands over his wounds. It didn't matter to her that she was kneeling in his blood. She just knelt there with a purple glow surrounding Jervis and pulled him closer as he healed before their eyes.

"Wow. I know she had healing powers, but with _that_ much blood loss. Hatter should be dying right now. **Not** waking up." Nina commented as she looked at Croc. He looked surprised as well and gave a sigh of relief as Jervis sat up and looked around.

"Where's Alice and my hat?" Audrina stood up, bringing him to standing with her and walked a few feet away to pick up a large hat. "Ah! Thank you Audrina! Thank you for healing me too! It's a frabjous day!" The small man looked around some more and confusion was evident on his face. "Where's Alice?"

"The young woman you kidnapped managed to escape. Her headband slipped off when we moved the grate." The lie rolled easily off her tongue, she worried for a moment how easy it was to tell that lie, but reminded herself it was for the safety of someone younger than her sister.

"Oh well. Thank you again for healing me!"

Croc stepped up to Audrina and gave her a hug, lifting her off the ground. "Thank you lil lady. I didn't want to have accidently killed my friend." She just patted his shoulder with one hand and almost sagged when he let her go.

"It's not a problem. Just smell before you attack, alright hun?" He gave a quick nod and started to escort them out of the tunnel. He climbed up and moved the grate with ease. "Thank you Croc." The two women climbed out and headed back to the apartment. She gave smile when they got into the apartment and saw the two sleepers cuddling each other. She blushed and moved behind the curtain to change when she saw Edward's hand move between Deirde's legs and heard her start to moan.

Nina started to undress again when she saw how red Audrina was. "Are you not comfortable seeing him with others?"

"No. Nothing like that, I'm just well, not used to all of this in general." She fanned herself a bit as she watched Diedre turn and place one leg over Edwards hip and he pulled down his boxers. "Oh wow." She watched him crawl on top and start thrusting in.

Nina gave a smirk and completely undressed climbed in to join them. She climbed behind Edward and placed one hand between the two of them, rubbing Diedre's clit and used the other to run over Edward and started kissing and nipping at his neck and ear. Audrina moved to the chair next to her bed and sat down to watch, squirming in her seat at the sounds they were all making. She watched Diedre gasp and arch her back, her toes curling as she orgasmed. Nina moved to lying right next to her and Edward slipped out of one and into the other. Audrina's hands fluttered and she couldn't do anymore than breathe heavily and pull at her collar as she watched Edward pull Nina's feet over his shoulders and slam into her. Diedre moved over slightly and pulled one of Nina's breasts into her mouth. She noticed how much louder Nina was compared to Diedre and gave a small jump as the woman gave a shout and Edward gasped, his hips jerking erratically and his hands went on either side of Nina as he breathed heavily and she lowered herself down breathing heavily as well. She took Diedre's hand and the two of them walked towards the bathroom. She could see his seed sliding down her leg as she walked.

Edward flopped on the bed and turned his head, jumping a bit when he saw a flustered Audrina sitting next to the bed. "Audrina! How much-"

"Everything." She watched him turn red. "That was very pleasing to watch actually." She was still tugging at her collar and he narrowed his eyes at her, smirking as he realized she was aroused.

He turned over and rested his head on his fist. "Would you like to join me in bed? Not for the same as I had with Nina and Diedre. As wonderful as that sounds, I do need a recovery period." He gave a chuckle as she crawled onto the bed. He gave a smirk noticing she was in a button down and her underwear. He pulled her on top of him and chuckled as she squeaked in surprise. He ran his hands up her sides and pulled her head down to give her a kiss. He briefly noted the shower turn on as he pulled her hair out of the ponytail and began to unbutton her shirt. He sat up and started nipping at her neck as he pushed the shirt off her shoulders and arms. He gave her a deep kiss as he undid her bra and flipped her onto her back, starting to kiss down her body. He stopped at her breasts as he pulled off her underwear, sliding a finger back and forth. He lightly bit her nipple and smiled to himself as she jerked her hips up automatically. He started to finger her and kept at it as he moved to the other breast then continued his way down. He loved the sounds of gasping and moaning as he slipped in another finger. She made a sound between a squeak and a shout as he curled his fingers up. "You're so wet it's amazing." He removed his fingers, chuckling as she groaned in disappointment and dove in with his mouth. He added the two fingers back in as he focused his tongue on her clit. He heard the sounds of the shower turn off and knew the two were done. He smirked to himself as he heard the door open and knew Nina and Diedre were watching him and Audrina. She gave a long moan and he could feel her tighten and spasm around his fingers. He sat back on his knees and looked down at the sight before him. Her hair was a mess and she was covered in sweat, still gasping for air. He crawled over her and brought his mouth to her ear, "One of these days, you're going to be doing nothing but screaming my name."

She gave a tired nod and turned her head towards him. "That was still amazing and intense." She tried to calm her breathing and laughed a little when he pulled her up. "Shower time?" She paused when she saw Nina and Diedre each leaning against the frame. "Um, how long were you two watching?"

Diedre gave a smirk and looked at Edward, "Long enough to know that's as far as you two have gotten." She glanced over at Nina. "Now things make a lot more sense." The two of them walked past the couple and Diedre leaned towards Audrina. "Just so you know, his cock feels even better than those fingers, and he can be gentle or rough if you need that." Audrina turned red and sped up towards the shower.

Edward just gave the two of them a little wave and followed Audrina to the shower with a strut that had his two partners snickering and laughing as they got dressed. 

* * *

  
Edward slouched on the couch looking through his phone as Audrina made brunch for the two of them. Nina and Diedre had decided to head back to their place. He got a text and laughed out loud causing Audrina to turn towards him in confusion. "It appears your sister and Jonathan got caught last night."

She kept stirring the rice and wasn't sure how to react. "You mean investigating the jail? Do they need bail money or something?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Not for that. It appears your sister was a little too loud while they were out in the field and your mother caught them!" Audrina froze and turned towards him. He scrolled down the rest of the text. "Apparently your mom did cover for them and blamed the couple that had gotten married the year before for all the noise." He gave another laugh. "Jon is taking a plane back later today and apparently it's been decided that Amber is moving in with you before she starts college."

"Wait. Amber's moving in with me now?" Audrina quickly finished the rice and picked up her phone. Dialing it and Edward laughing to himself as he read through more of Jon's text. The poor man probably would lock himself away from society for a week after dealing with Amber's mother. He frowned a bit when he read the ending of the text, ' _I forgot she was southern, called me a mulatto and said she'd try to be supportive of her daughter no matter what but she did not trust me._ '

"Audrina, I'm surprised your mother has an issue with race." Edward watched her hang up in frustration over getting Amber's voicemail.

"She's not racist. I'm hispanic and she adopted me." Audrina looked at her phone, typing a message to her sister.

"Apparently she called Jon a _mulatto_." He tried very hard to keep the anger from his voice. He wondered how such a woman could even raise young women like Audrina and Amber.

Audrina's head snapped towards him. " **That's horrible!** " She gave a sigh, "I suppose she is racist but tries really hard not to be. She's from the south, it's ingrained in her almost. I never knew Jon was half-black though. I mean he's got a bit of an afro when he hasn't brushed back his hair, and it does puff out a lot, but it just never clicked. He's so _pale_ and has blue eyes."

"Darling, people of every race could potentially have blue eyes, just takes a hidden recessive gene. As for how pale he is, either it's from his mother or he's bleached his skin. He's never spoken on the matter and I'll _never_ press it."

Audrina nodded and brought the food over to Edward and sat down next to him. "I still can't believe she called him that. I'll need to have a word with her later." They ate together in silence. Audrina's phone went off, she picked it up thinking it would be her sister. "Hey! Oh, hello. Sure-" she nodded her head with a slight frown. "It's not a problem. I'll be there soon." She hung up and turned towards Edward. "Sorry love but I'm needed over at Wayne Manor. There's been an incident."

He walked her out to her car, glad to see someone had returned it during the night. He saw a small potted plant in the front seat and knew it was Ivy. He gave a small smile then frowned, wondering to himself when Harley would leave Joker for someone that actually cared about her. He shook the thoughts from his head and got into his car, following Audrina to Wayne Manor, watching her turn and wave at him as she was escorted inside and then drove back to his hideout. He had a snake to find. He glanced at his phone on the seat next to it and plugged it in his car.

"Hello Jonathan. I'm driving so try to keep anything shocking to a minimum." He kept his eyes focused on the road as he could tell Jonathan was debating what to say.

" _Well_ ," it came out in a drawl, Jonathan must really be focusing on his words instead of covering up that accent. "It turns out almost everyone knows everybody in this town. Amber's been helpful in figuring out the connections. David Burgess didn't escape from prison."

Edward was glad to have already been slowing down for a stop sign because he slammed the breaks just then. " **What?!** " He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing on. "You mean to say that for attempted murder he barely did two years? Does Utah not have any laws about spousal abuse?"

Amber spoke up, he must be on speaker phone, "Well it's gettin voted on soon. So hopefully there will be something against what he did, but his cousin runs the prison and well, Solomon's _always_ been a bit of a bully, he used to pick on us for Audrina being brown and for the purple hair. He was graduating high school just as she joined so I think everyone just brushed it off. He let David out early, _not even on probation_ for good behavior. Apparently his going to church there and praying for forgiveness makes him all good again."

"So there you go Edward, how he got out has been solved. Now _you_ just need to figure out how he found Audrina." There was a silence between the three of them.

"Wait- Amber did you know about Audrina standing up to Two-Face at all? Jon, do you know if that was in the national news?"

"No it _didn't_ make the national news, this is Gotham-" He sounded as if he was rolling his eyes but he was cut off at the end.

" **Yes!** It was on Youtube and I even saw it on Tumblr! Everyone was excited about the everyday hero! She was even in an article featuring moments where regular everyday people stood up to villains and survived! I remember that one because a lot of people said she shouldn't count since **The** Riddler walked in and broke up the bank robbery! I even have the video and some of the gifs people made of it saved on my laptop!" Amber was speaking quickly, Riddler wanted to punch something and was glad he was just a few more minutes away from his closest hideout.

" _Wayne_. It all comes back to **fucking Wayne**!" He could hear the clicking of a keyboard and the video being played. He still wanted to punch something, preferably Batman.

"Hm, yes. This video would easily let him know she was in Gotham. Amber where was it on... Tumbler?"

"Close enough. The hashtags this popped up the most were under #OnlyinGotham, #Two-Face strikes again, #Look its a Rogue!, and #GothamGirlsStickTogether." There was some more clicking as Edward listened to the two of them mutter to each other. "Ah ha! The original post gives location and date. It also has a selfie of the _idiot_ who posted it and may get my sister killed."

"The video would have gone up either way. It was a sighting of a Rogue, we tend to be popular on the internet lately. Well, aside from a few of us. We apparently even have our own little followings. Harley once brought me to a cafe where they had a Riddle-board and a few candid pictures of me even. It was wonderful, but back to the original conversation. This _never_ would have happened if not for Wayne."

"Pray tell, what brings you to that conclusion Edward? Audrina didn't even become his PA until long after this video."

"He was in a board meeting and she was one of the office workers with their own car who didn't fawn over him. He asked her to drop the check off for them. If he'd chosen anyone else this would not have happened."

"Ed, you're letting your emotions get the best of you. David was asking around for where Amelia went before the video became popular. Audrina was very lucky in the timing of her getting the job and moving. She missed him by two months."

"I do know the video of her healing Wayne has now been on the news, since Joker let out her secret of being a metahuman people are showing that video of her healing Wayne during the shooting along with security footage from the hospital showing her crying over Batgirl and a glow surrounding them both, followed by the original Bat-Girl and Nightwing running in after she walked out." Edward parked his car and unplugged his phone, putting it to his ear as he finished the code sudoku puzzle, then entered in a code before his door slid open.

"Oh! I just saw those on the news last night. There's no color or sound in the hospital footage, you can only tell because she's all bandaged up and they showed the photo from the Gotham Gazette of her getting wrapped up by the paramedics while those models and Wayne were talking with the police. He looked so _small_ wrapped in that shock blanket and just soaked to the bone." Amber actually sounded sad towards the end.

"I remember that picture. We spoke about how much she had progressed to be able to hold down her fear in the face of such danger." Edward walked over to his computer, booting it up as he listened to them talk about the paper and how it gave her name, profession, and how she was only there for winning the office lottery.

"Amber, send me those links you have. The full video as well, everything you can. I'm making a dropbox, and sending you the password to it. I also need every bit of information you have on David Burgess. Even rumors, anything you can think of."

"I can send the stuff now, but we're about to board the plane Ed, so I'll have to give you the information in person."

"I thought you were moving in with Audrina. How can you afford to have your things shipped across the nation? Also, this is happening right away?"

"Well _Daddy's_ paying for that so his little girl doesn't have to drive across the country with some older man, and he's driving some of the more delicate things and my car and taking a plane back home. He kind of hasn't figured out that Jon and I are well, sleeping together at the very least. Mom well, she just wanted us **out** of the house and had us up all night packing. She supervised. She did apologize for her words towards Jon. Said they were words of anger and hopes he can understand the anger of seeing a man twice her daughter's age inside her daughter."

"I _still_ don't understand why you don't let me fear gas her."

"Daddy's driving across the country remember? I'm not just a beautiful young woman. I don't forgive Mom for what she said. You may find yourself a couple canisters short and I may have spent this morning making a couple time delay devices along with some pressure sensors so tonight after Daddy's gone and her side of the bed is laid down on, I set it to her weight, too much weight and it won't go off so Daddy won't get gassed, Mom's going to have some **terror** in her night."

"How long did you set the delay for dear?" Edward rolled his eyes at hearing the pleasure in Jon's voice.

"Two days, for the first one. The next is for the day after and since I only took four from you I timed the last one for the day before Daddy makes it to Gotham. I know Mommy's too proud to admit she's being _punished_. She'll be **much** nicer to you next time Jon."

"Ugh, you two. Call me back when you get off the plane and I want all the information you have on David when we get somewhere private." They both agreed and hung up the phone. Edward watched files being loaded and walked over to his punching bag. He picked up his cane and started swinging at it. Cursing and shouting as he swung. He was sweating and out of breath by the time he finished. "I _**need**_ to find out how he escaped Blackgate. There hasn't been any major breakouts lately and I doubt he made friends quickly, the killer he hired was murdered. They all think Riddler killed him and I'm sure some of them even know the state he was found in. They wouldn't trust David so quickly." Edward gave a shudder as he remembered the state of the man's body. He'd only known it was the same man from the smashed kneecap, everything else was a bloody mess. Amber either was a sadist or the possibility of her sister dying brought out a sadistic side. 

He stripped and took a shower to get the sweat off of his body. He hated that feeling of sweat sticking to him. He got dressed and went back to his computer. He noticed an email from Audrina, it was titled "For a laugh love ;)" He shook his head and opened it. It was a video from one of the Batcave security cameras. He looked up at the text "Nightwing let me have this footage because as he put it, " _Robin's being a little shit again, so you can let our boyfriend laugh at him. Harley too, she'll find it hilarious._ " I told him that it seemed a bit mean, but I did agree it may brighten your day." He clicked the video and watched Audrina being escorted down a set of stairs by Wayne's butler and Robin hobbling around and shouting he didn't need help, he was fine, and he could train right now even. He tried to avoid Audrina and took a swing at Nightwing when he tried to catch him. Batman walked into frame, visibly sighed and shot that annoying weighted rope at the twerp. Robin quickly hit the ground with his arms trapped and Nightwing slung him over his shoulder. He heard Audrina and Nightwing talking as she laid her hands on Robin's ankle. There was the familiar purple glow and some of the tension seemed to ease off of Robin. He heard the boy thank her and she just laughed and said something about strength being found in admitting the need for help as she undid his bindings. The video ended and Edward was chuckling, though most of all at how tired of it Batman seemed. It appeared he treated all his partners as family.

He forwarded it to Harley and resumed searching through his criminal contacts to see if anyone knew how David escaped Blackgate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mention of Jon being half black I based a bit off of one of my best friends growing up. Her mother was black with really dark skin, I never met her mother because her dad got the two kids in the divorce. Her mother was apparently 'as black as night', my friend and her brother though, they were as pale as paper, freckled, and had black kinky hair. Her brother just kept his hair cut short, but she had long hair and even with using a straightening iron every morning her hair had a tight wave to it and looked oily. Her grandmother would make her get her hair relaxed every year, and would speak in whispers about her granddaughter having 'ethnic' hair.   
> Thankfully she's now far away from that woman and as far as I know from facebook, proudly accepting her black hair. Somehow even after all those years of straightening and getting it relaxed it's still tightly curled and in a couple pictures it's an afro.  
> I took creative license with the blue eyes because well, in all media I've only seen Jonathan Crane with blue eyes.  
> The bleaching of skin, still exists and happens today. I was given skin bleach by my mom while in high school 'to make things easier'.


	13. Peace Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lull before the storm

Audrina smiled at the youngest Robin. "There, now was that so hard?" He pouted and looked to the side. "I understand you didn't want help, but there's a difference between wanting help needing it. Look at Batman, he's just as stubborn as any of you, yet he helps and accepts help from the two of you."

The boy looked up at her, eyes full of fire and determination. "What would you know about needing help? You're just a _healer_."

She gave a sigh and sat down next to him, watching Nightwing and Batman pretending to be busy with the bat-computer as they listened in. "I know a lot about needing help. When I was young, still in my senior year of high school actually, I married a man who promised me the world. He said he saw past the things that separated me from others, things like my brown skin." She looked over at this boy, thin and full of anger. "He said he didn't care I was adopted, that I spent so many years in the system." The boy turned and looked at her wide eyed, surprised she'd been adopted maybe? "He broke his promises. I watched him murder someone just because I walked in on him together with her." She pulled her legs close to her and wrapped her arms around them. "I spent _five years_ being abused and raped by that man. I wasn't free until he tried to murder me inside of a hospital. So I know **a lot** about needing help. I needed help healing, help being able to hold my head up in court, help getting a new name and a job. Someone reached out to the Martha Wayne Foundation and saw that I could start a new life in Gotham." She blinked back tears and looked up at the roof of the cave. "I need help even now from my friends because that man has it in his head that even with court, prison, a divorce, and a name change I still belong to him."

"So... you're not just a healer, you're a survivor." He looked up at her, those blue eyes and dark hair looked so similar to Bruce Wayne's she gave a smile.

"That's right Jason, above all- _survive_." She got up and brushed her tears away. "You survive and then the healers, friends, family, even pets, can jump in to help you really live again." She pulled him up to standing, the two of them walking up to the eavesdroppers. "I should be heading back soon." She placed a glowing hand on Nightwing and Batman's shoulders. "Mr. Wayne, you now you can let me know when you are hurt too, right?"

He gave a sigh and seemed to stand a little straighter, "I know, some days I forget I'm not working alone anymore." He looked between Nightwing and Robin, "You two, play nice." before turning and guiding Audrina out of the Batcave. They passed Alfred on their way up and Audrina brushed her purple fingers against his arm as they passed. He gave a small smile and a nod. He walked he over to the foyer and looked back to the batcave entrance. "What did you just heal with Alfred? As far as I know he isn't sick." She could hear the worry in his voice.

"Don't worry, I just pushed back some arthritis and healed away the infection that was starting to take place in his lungs." She gave a smile as he frowned and nodded. "Now I really should head out and give Edward a text telling him I'm heading home." He looked over her shoulder, through the window and to her car.

"Are you _sure_ you'll get home alright?" She gave an almost sad smile at him in return.

"I'll be fine. Don't you worry. As Batman or Mr. Wayne, you worry too much." She placed a hand on his chest, they both ignored the glowing between them, healing old injuries from years of protecting Gotham. "You **protect** , I'll heal. Now I've got to get my extra bedroom ready for my sister to move into. I'm not sure what I'll do with all of my sewing materials, but I'll figure something out." She turned and walked out the door.

He headed back into the Batcave, walking down to his two wards and heading straight to the bat-computer "We need to find out how David Burgess escaped Blackgate."

Audrina drove her car home, at each stoplight petting the plant next to her in hopes of calming down. Now that she was alone she felt the fear of her ex husband come back to her. She wanted to cry so badly, she wanted to lock herself away and hide in fear. The plant next to her lightly wrapped around her wrist and she gave a small smile to herself. She _wasn't_ completely alone. She had friends looking out for her. She pulled into the parking garage for her complex and looked around before stepping out of her car. She paused in debate and turned back to her car to pick up the plant and carry it with her.

She got inside her apartment with no harm and placed the potted plant on the counter near the door. Audrina then sat down on her couch, placed her head in her hands and cried. For the first time since yesterday she had a chance to think over the events. Her hands shook and she gasped for air but she cried her heart out. 

* * *

  
Edward gave a huff of frustration at his computer. There weren't even any logs indicating David had ever been in Blackgate. At the very least he should have been in the system last night! He hacked into the GCPD's system and saw with the cameras that David was still there in a holding cell. That was one positive to this day of dead ends.

He clicked through the digital files to find who was supposed to take David to Blackgate from the courtroom. He found a report of the van being hijacked. David was just there when a mafia man was being sent away. Edward glared at the screen, hating the fact that a mere coincidence kept David on the streets and able to access Audrina. Now he had to find out how David knew the brothers working for Wayne.

He looked for some connection but had trouble concentrating. He kept worrying about Audrina and how that man knew where she lived. He gave a sigh and climbed into his car, driving to her complex and sighing in relief when he saw the vines were still in place. He parked the car next to Audrina's, placing a tracker on her car in case David kidnapped her with it somehow. He knew it was paranoid but he'd rather go overboard to keep her safe. He looked up at her balcony and began the climb up to see her. He paused when the vines tightened before moving away from the door and actually opened it.

He heard her before he saw her and something in his chest hurt at that sound. She was crying and he walked over to her. He placed an arm around Audrina's shoulders and pulled her towards him. "I can't say it's alright, because it's not. Soon though, it will be and Audrina I don't care if you hate me afterwards, but I will kill that man just to keep you safe." She clutched at his chest and just sat there with her head on his shoulder and looking down at her hands. He kissed her hair and rubbed circles on her back with one hand. "Riddle me this Audrina. Why would I ask you for a map?"

He felt her shoulders shake and a small giggle left her mouth. She finally raised her head up at him though and he looked directly into those red rimmed almond shaped eyes. "This is going to be corny isn't it?"

He pulled her up gently for a short kiss. "It's honest. Audrina I would ask you for a map because without one I could get lost in your eyes forever." A gloved thumb brushed away her tears. "Right now, there is nothing between us. It's just you and I Audrina." He placed a kiss on her forehead, "You are safe, you've got me right here, Ivy's plants at your balconies, another plant near the door, and David in custody." Her arms moved to wrap around him and she rested her cheek on his chest. "Here's another riddle for you dear, why did Carbon marry Hydrogen?"

Her shoulders started shaking and he could hear her laughing softly. "You are _such_ a nerd I love it. They married because they were a well and stable bond." She looked up at him and stood on tiptoes to give him a kiss. "Thank you for trying to cheer me up. I guess I'm just so worried. If he escaped once what's stopping him from doing it again?"

"I'll ask Croc for a favor to track the transport van and make sure David enters the prison." He pulled her tighter, trying not to worry about that insane man hunting her.

"I believe he owes me a favor actually. He accidently attacked Jervis today when Jervis was trying to use the sewers to escape with another 'Alice', whose headband _unfortunately_ slipped off when she helped me lift the grate, and asked me to heal Jervis for him."

"Is that where you and Nina slipped off to this morning?" She gave a nod. "You've been doing so much today Audrina. Why don't you rest?" She took a step back and looked up at him.

"I'm afraid to take a nap." Her arms wrapped around herself and she looked at the floor. "He's already haunting me in reality, what if he haunts me in my dreams?" Her eyes were wide with fear and she stared at him. Edward reached for her, seeing her start to detach. " **I'll never be free of him!** He's always going to be _there_ haunting me." He took a step towards her, grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her.

"Like hell he will Audrina." His voice was almost a growl. "He'll have to go through many people to get to you. You will be free of him soon. Don't worry about that." She looked up at him with slightly parted lips and he pulled her into another kiss. "I don't know what it will take for you to understand, but right now, right here you are safe." He moved his hands to her shoulders. "Come along now dear." He stepped behind her and guided her to her bedroom. "You need rest, and I'm going to make sure you get it."

She raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head. "Still not ready for that love." He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her neck.

"I know, let's just get you changed and I'll hold you while you sleep." He pushed her to go change into her nightgown and she laid down in her bed, he pulled a laptop out from under her bed and sat down next to her. "Sleep. I'm right here." She gave a tired nod, the past few days catching up to her and she fell asleep almost instantly, one hand on his thigh and her hair spread all around the pillow. He gave a sigh looking at her and picked up his phone, making sure to keep quiet. ' _Have you arrived yet?_ ' He wondered why Amber and Jonathan weren't knocking on the door yet, it was an hour past the arrival time. To reassure himself he hacked back into the GCPD and looked through their cameras again. There was a brief moment of panic as he cycled through all the cameras and found no sign of David. He pulled up the transfer files, nothing. He went back and looked through the older footage.

He wanted to scream, that rat bastard paid off his guard to let him free? He closed his eyes and controlled his breathing, glancing towards the vine covered balcony windows. They were safe, she was safe. He copied the footage and sent it directly to Commissioner Gordon's email. Amber and Jonathan though? He wasn't answering. Edward shook his head, Jonathan would never let himself get kidnapped. He wasn't sure about Amber though and called her phone.

"I'm _so_ sorry, but the whore isn't available right now. I will gladly give this one back to that stick figure of a man if you return what's mine though." The man on the other end of the phone gave a mad cackle. "Of course, this whore will be **punished** while I wait." David hung up and simply texted an address.

The phone started to ring and he picked up before Audrina started stirring. " _Edward_ \- they jumped us. I gassed one but the others had **masks**." Jon was gasping for air and wheezing as he spoke. "They _knew_ when we arrived. He _planned_ this Edward." Jonathan gave a cough and wheezed again. "I can't- I can't even move from where they dumped me. They have _Amber_. That **bastard** has her!" Edward knew it couldn't wait, he shook Audrina awake and jumped up from the bed.

"Jonathan. We're getting you first. Where are you? You need healing and then we can save Amber." He paused and listened to the rough address of where his friend was. "We'll be there as soon as possible. I'm going to text and send out for backup."

Audrina looked up at him as she sat up, her eyes were wide with fear. " _He has Amber?_ " Edward gave a grim nod and walked to her wardrobe. He pulled out her version of his suit and tossed it on the bed. She gave a small nod and bit her lip before changing into the suit. "Jonathan needs our help first though, right" He nodded again and ushered her out the door, swiping the potted plant on his way out. "We're taking my car. You send for help and tell me where to drive."  She took deep breaths and looked up at Edward with frightened determination. "My sister needs to be saved, even if it means- even if we have to deal with David." She closed her eyes and momentarily placed her head on the steering wheel. "Even if we or I have to kill him. He'll _never_ stop. Not until one of us is dead." 


	14. David VS The Riddler

They drove to the street Jonathan said he was on, Audrina gasped and stopped the car, pulling the emergency brake and jumping out when she saw the trail of blood. She was out of sight by the time Edward got the car properly parked and followed her. He ran and found her holding Jonathan's head in her lap and crying as they both glowed purple. Edward froze, there was so much blood. He winced as he heard a bone snap into place, Jonathan didn't even twitch, he just laid there staring into Audrina's eyes as she healed him. He walked towards them both, kneeling down across from Audrina. For once he didn't care that blood was soaking his pants. He was watching a miracle. The three of them stayed like that for a moment before Jonathan gasped for air and struggled. Audrina took her hands from his face placed her hands on his shoulders.

"I'm here. _I'm here_ Jon. We're going to save Amber. We're going to stop David, but you need to be alive for that." He sat up and looked at her in confusion, "You were dying Jonathan, look around and tell me how much of this blood is yours."

He stood up and pulled his vest into place, grimacing at all the knife cuts covering his clothing. It hung off of him like the scarecrow he was inside. "Most of it, some of it is Ambers and I believe time is of the essence."

The two of them climbed up and Edward held the keys up. "I'm driving this time. Harley, Ivy, and Croc will meet us there, Echo and Query as well. Two-Face told he he'd let the coin decide and Jervis doesn't think he'll be of much help." They all climbed in the car, Jonathan moving to the backseat when he saw one of Ivy's plants in the front seat.

"I'd wonder if this is a bit much for a simple man, but he seems to have some sort of power over others. I know a few of the men sent to jump us. They're low level gangsters, fodder for hire essentially. Why they'd side with a man that is known to be a target of us is unknown." Jonathan looked at the two suitcases next to him Edward had tossed in the car, then he looked at his hands and over himself, it was an odd feeling seeing his own blood covering him and his skin free of any wounds.

Audrina spoke for the first time since the alleyway. "He's charismatic. He can stab you and somehow spin it so you _deserved_ it and should _thank_ him. He's got a way with words that can draw you in." She played with the plant as she spoke, looking down at her lap. "He knew how to work a crowd in his favor."

They drove in silence, the two men contemplating what she had said before they pulled up to a warehouse by the docks. The three of them climbed out, Audrina still holding the plant as they watched their various friends and acquaintances get into view. Croc leaped out of the water, landing next to Audrina who barely flinched. Harley, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy stepped out of a simple looking car, and Two-face walked up behind them, still flipping his coin in the air. Edward stepped forward and looked at those who had gathered, wondering where Query and Echo were before speaking. "We don't know how many people that madman has managed to gather, but he's not expecting so many of us, so- Jonathan, Audrina, and I will enter first. Ivy, I'm sure your plant can let you know when you all need to join?" She gave him a nod and looked over her shoulder, he followed her gaze and saw his girls running up in costume with guns over their shoulders. "Nina, Diedre, please follow behind us, but stick to the shadows."

Audrina was almost pale and shaking as they stepped towards the door. She reached forward to open it, one hand clutching the flower pot with a deathgrip. She took a deep breath and opened it. She flinched at the sounds she heard, when she opened her eyes and looked up, she shoved the plant at Jonathan and ran forward. There in the middle of the warehouse was Amber. She was tied to a post and David was whipping her while reciting bible verses. " **Stop**!" Audrina was surprised to find herself shouting.

Amber raised her head up, her face was set in a determined expression and she gave a smirk. Audrina knew that smirk, it meant trouble. "Oh no David's _just_ warming up. This excuse of a man can barely break skin with his weak ass hits." She bit her lip at the next lash. "In fact I'm sure he's only trying to hurt me because this is the only way he can even get it up." She laughed, laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. She stopped and bit her lip as the next lash came down. Audrina could see blood flicking through the air with each strike of the whip upon her sister's back.

She stood frozen in terror as she saw David's expression as he snapped the bible shut. She whimpered in fear as he turned his head and smiled at her. She never realized how unnatural his smile was. "Well well well, _would you look at tha_ t? The devil's whore has decided to grace us with her presence." He started to walk towards her when Edward stepped in front of her.

"Oh no David. I am **not** the devil. I'm **much** worse, for I begin but have no end and I am the end to all that begins." He twirled his cane. Audrina noticed it was much sharper than his normal one, when had that happened? "No David. ** _I am death_** and I come for you." David looked surprised for a moment before he yelled and people started running towards the three of them. The door behind them burst open and Jonathan tossed the plant to Ivy as Harley tossed him his scythe. The two groups started fighting, those recruited by David falling quickly to the rogues. Audrina circled around Edward and David fighting and rushed towards Amber.

"Oh sis, I'm so sorry this happened." Amber just gave a tired smile and sagged against her restraints, finally dropping the facade of strength she projected. Audrina looked up to see the rope holding Amber's hands together and the metal ring it was strung through. It was high up enough Amber could barely stand on her own two feet, there was no way Audrina could even think of reaching it. She instead placed her arms around Amber and healed her. She could feel Amber trying to pull at the ropes now that her strength had started to return. Audrina almost fell over when something sliced the rope and Amber fell the last couple inches. They both turned and followed the arch of the weapon to see a red haired woman wearing a black and red bat costume in the rafters catch it. She placed her finger to her lips and jumped from rafter to rafter, helping in spots where someone would be pinned down. Audrina turned back towards Amber, "Was that Batwoman?" she whispered to her sister. A wide eyed nod was given to her in response.

Audrina turned and saw David pull out a gun from where he had been knocked down by Edward. It was as if time froze, Edward still in mid swing focused on trying to kill David and the gun he was pulling out of his jacket as he climbed back to his feet. She didn't even think. She ran screaming Edward's name and shoved into David. The shift in both parties caused the spike in the cane to line up with David's head and she ended up shoving him into it.

Everything seemed to stop as a chunk of flesh was torn from David's face and neck and he laid there on the floor bleeding out and gasping for air. The few people left on his side ran, they knew he was dead or soon to be dead. Audrina stood there, her hands still outstretched and gasping for air while Edward stood over David's body. His cane had a chunk of flesh hanging off of it and was dripping blood onto the floor. Amber walked up and joined him standing over the slowly dying man. She knelt down to one knee and placed her mouth near his ear. "I hope when you die, all you find is darkness. I hope you fall to your knees _screaming_ for redemption and are ignored and unwanted for centuries." She spoke louder. "May you **scream** for God and he banishes you." His eyes flickered from her to Audrina, eyes were stuck on her bloody hands and Jonathan was the only thing keeping her standing.

"Amelia. Heal me. Give me another chance. I am your husband." He coughed and blood passed his lips. "Do it now." He reached a hand out towards her and Jonathan held her back, Query and Echo surrounding her and whispering words to reassure her. She kept trying to step towards him even with Jonathan holding her.

"Audrina. Remember where you are. Don't go into shock from the blood on your hands. He deserves worse than this." He held her in almost a hug, his long arms wrapping tight around her while his head was near her shoulder. "Remember Audrina, this man tried to kill you, he hired someone to kill you, he raped you every night for five years. He is a monster and does not deserve to be healed." Tears ran down her face as she looked from her hands to David lying on the ground. Amber was still kneeling next to him, whispering dark words in his ear, Edward stood over him, the hooked cane dripping. The whole situation felt surreal to her.

"I did say the only way to escape all this was either him or I to die." Her legs started shaking and Query and Echo moved to help Jonathan support her. Croc walked up with a crate and placed it down, they guided her to sit on it. "I somehow always thought I would be the one to die." She was still looking at him as he gave a rattling breath and Amber sat back with a cold smile. The blood pooled around him didn't seem to bother her at all. "He's really dead isn't he?" Edward slammed down his cane, slicing into David with no response.

"You're free of him Audrina." She finally looked up at Edward, he had splatters of blood but she could see he was breathing heavily even for how long he stood still and was pale. She lept up, and slammed into him with a hug. He almost fell over but Ivy push him back to standing with a shove to his shoulder. A purple glow surrounded them and Audrina sobbed. Ivy gave a sigh of relief when the glow extended to her and the few knife cuts healed up. Harley who wasn't even touching her started glowing as well. Audrina was healing everyone in the room as she held onto Edward. "My dear, you are extraordinary." He tightened his grip on her and held his cane in a defensive position when Batwoman dropped in front of him. They ignored the slick splat as the piece of flesh fell off the hook onto the ground.

"I'm not here to judge or arrest any of you like Batman. I came here to observe." She stepped around and looked over Audrina. "She's no fighter, but she's useful. It was a good tactic to distract him and have her shove him into your cane there." She tilted her head and Audrina cried even harder. "It was an accident?" She looked around at the collection of Rogues there. "A complete civilian?" Riddler nodded and stared her down. "I see. Goodbye then." She turned and walked outside the warehouse, presumably to discuss the situation and how it was handled with Batman.

Harley started humming a song and picked up the body. "Well guys, we have to do something with this piece of trash. Fire? Dumpster? Just drop him off in a cemetery? We could even just toss him in the river!" She gave a wide smile and looked around at everyone.

Amber walked over and just stared at the body for a moment. "I say throw him with the trash, but his body would just lead to an investigation. Fire or river for my vote. River's right outside the door." Jonathan walked towards her and touched her shoulder with his hand. He couldn't find the words to say, he just walked behind her and looked at the tears in her shirt indicating where the whip had cut through. The back of her shirt and pants were covered in drying blood and it was a surprise the shirt was still on her. "He's dead and rotting. Come on Harley, I want to watch him sink into the river." The three of them and a few others walked out with Harley and the body.

Audrina looked up at Edward. "The nightmare is _truly_ over? He's gone?" He gave a nod and placed a kiss on her forehead. He gave a small frown as he noticed she was still shaking.

"Let's go. I'm sure the others won't mind us leaving." He guided her out of the warehouse, Query and Echo following behind them. "We're going to my main hideout, but we can stop for you to grab some clothes first." She just nodded and looked over to the group that threw the body in the water and was now just standing around and chatting. Two-face flipped a coin then left after saying goodbyes, Catwoman gave a nod to the group and walked away. Croc jumped into the water and Amber started walking towards them with Jonathan. Harley just waved and walked away with Ivy.

"Audrina, do you have your spare key on you?" She gave a smile and Audrina could almost pretend her sister was sweet and innocent, but what she had witnessed; there was a darkness inside of her wiggling it way out. "Oh, and I think I need a ride to your place. Also I really should pick up my suitcase from the airport. I think I left it there."

"It was in the ally where they left me. Edward tossed it in the car while Audrina was recovering from her shock and he was still panicking. Although I do understand his panic, I was near death when your sister found me." He looked over at the six of them. "We should leave now."

Echo gave a short laugh and turned towards Edward and Audrina, "We'll meet you at the hideout boss." She gave a wink towards Audrina, "Make sure to pack some pretty things. Your new freedom should be celebrated. If you'd like we could light a candle and mourn what he should have been instead of who he really was."

Audrina looked at her and gave a small smile. "Thank you Nina." Nina and Diedre walked over to their car that had been hidden around the corner. Audrina stood by her car and Amber pushed her into the back seat with her while Jonathan and Edward were up front. Amber placed an arm around Audrina's shoulders as they drove to her apartment. "Will you be fine there alone Amber?"

Amber smiled down at her big sister before looking over at Jonathan with a smirk. "I'm sure no matter what I'll be fine. I just gotta wash all this blood off and be glad I wasn't wearing a bra or that would be ruined too with this shirt." She twitched her nose and looked over Audrina. "I think all of us need a good shower to get rid of blood. How are your pant legs covered in it anyways?"

Jonathan spoke up, speaking slowly and choosing his words carefully. "It's mine. The ones who kidnapped you didn't take well to my fighting back even after you were taken. I will admit I was surprised at how much he fought against them, but they did eventually overpower Scarecrow." He paused while he fiddled with a rip on his sleeve. "I had managed to call Edward for help, but I honestly thought in that moment I would die. Audrina, I'm in your debt for saving my life."

Amber looked at him in surprise and she gave him a warm smile. Audrina just continued to look at her hands and lean against Amber. "I thought he was dead, but that sound. It was such a horrible sound. His lung was punctured." Her hands were shaking and she looked up and saw they'd pulled up to her apartment. "We should all go in. I think all of us need to get rid of the blood and change." The four of them got out of the car, ignoring the odd sight they made. Edward and Audrina in Riddler regalia and with blood soaking their pant legs and splatters on the rest of them, including a patch near Edward's chest from being stabbed. Jonathan and Amber both with blood from where they had been wounded and their clothes in tatters and carrying a suitcase each.

When they entered the apartment they saw Ivy already had taken her plants home with her. Audrina just headed towards her room and Amber sighed and walked to her room with Jonathan following her. Edward followed Audrina into her room where she was crying again as she pulled the clothing from where it was sticking to her skin. "Audrina?" She walked into the bathroom and filled up the sink, tossing her clothes in and staring at the red water, she drained it and ran the faucet, trying to get the blood out of the pants. He walked past her and turned on the shower, testing the heat. When it was warm enough he walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Audrina. Climb in the shower. Worry about the clothes later. Come along." He unclipped her bra and dropped it to the floor as she climbed out of her underwear and he undressed as well, making a face at having to peel some of the clothes off of his skin. He climbed in after her and started to wash up as well. He watched her, for once she didn't shy away from his eyes while undressed. Part of him wanted to take that as a step forward but knew it was because she couldn't process the events of the past few hours.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. Her tears felt almost cold compared to the hot water. She made grabbing motions on his chest, completely unsure of what to do even as she kept crying. "I shouldn't mourn him. He was a horrible man, but it was a horrible death!" She wrapped her arms around his chest and looked up at Edward, not even surprised to find his green eyes already looking down to her. "I didn't mean to kill him. I just wanted to protect you from the gun."

"Audrina. He never would have stopped. He was beyond saving, there was madness in his eyes and he already proved how little regard he had for anyone in the way." Her eyes kept watering and he felt himself get angry, he couldn't understand why Audrina was mourning that bastard. "All you need to do is look in a mirror and see how much he deserved to die!" He didn't mean to shout, but she flinched and he quickly let go of her and took a step back. "I didn't mean to yell at you, I just can't understand how your compassion can extend to him."

She looked down at the tiles beneath them, there was no longer any blood flowing down the drain. Instead of answering Edward she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself, placing her glasses back on and walking into her bedroom. He gave a sigh and turned off the shower and grabbed a towel of his own before following her. She was sitting on her bed and looking at the carpet, letting her hair just drip onto it and her bed. "You can't understand Edward. I was in love with him. I got married to him so young, he was the only man I had ever known in that fashion. He had control over me for five years." She looked up at him, it pained her to see him looking at her in sadness mixed with pity.

He knelt in front of her, placing himself in her curtain of hair and placed his head against hers. "I suppose for all my bravado I did have a break down when I found out my father died. He was a horrible man, but I couldn't believe he died of something so mundane as liver failure." He took a deep breath and placed one hand on hers. "I got myself so drunk that night Batman found me on the street and actually took me to my apartment. Query and Echo were there for me that night, they watched over me and later comforted me." He stood up and tilted her head towards his. "I forget sometimes how fragile we all are, how much you need to be protected. Let's dry off and get dressed then head to my place. Query and Echo are already there, we can take a moment to mourn what he could have been, his potential, but after that we will celebrate that you are completely free. You Audrina can be whoever you want now. His shadow no longer looms over you."

She gave a small smile and got up, heading over to her closet to change and taking the towel off to wrap her hair once she passed her privacy screens. He pulled a duffle bag out from under her bed and started to fill it, waiting for her to come out of the closet before grabbing a few more of her dresses. She was sitting on her bed waiting for him, she didn't even look at the bag he packed for her. He picked up the bag and tossed it over his shoulder before picking up her hand. She looked up at him in mild confusion before standing up next to him. The two of them walked out the door and saw no sign of Amber or Jonathan. "Should I go check on them or should we just head out and leave them a note?" He looked down at her, her face was pinched with worry.

"Check up on them if you could, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were still cleaning up. Jonathan was covered in blood, he's probably still washing it out of his hair." She ran a hand through her still damp hair, remembering how after the shooting incident it felt like she'd never get all the blood out.

Edward bent down to give her a kiss and placed the bag at her feet. He walked over to the other room, slowly opening the door and hearing the shower running. He thought he heard Jonathan's low voice as well and crept over to the bathroom to peak in. He stood in surprise for a moment at seeing Amber pinned against the shower wall while Jonathan was thrusting into her, his head right by her ear and only the low tones of his voice being able to be heard. They hadn't even gotten all the blood off of them. The sight was almost eerie, Jonathan still covered in blood and what was wet from the shower becoming slick between the two of them. He snapped out of his staring as Jonathan bit down on Amber's neck and she gave a half scream of pleasure. He quickly stepped out and closed the door silently, doing the same for the bedroom door.

Audrina looked up at him as he exited her sisters room and bit back a laugh as she took in his red face and the bulge in his pants. "I assume they were busy then?" She turned and picked up a pencil next to an open notebook, leaving a note for the two of them before picking up her bag. Edward just gave a nod and kept taking deep breaths as he followed Audrina. Instead of the stairs she took the elevator and he made sure to stand behind her. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her back against him. "Edward, what are you doing?" He brushed her hair away and started kissing and nipping at her neck. He smirked to himself as he felt her breath hitch. "I don't think you should be doing that here." He placed a kiss on her neck and started to walk behind her when the elevator doors opened.

The climbed into his car and headed towards his main hideout. He typed in the answer then the code to enter and they both smiled when they saw Query and Echo curled up on the couch watching a movie. They looked almost asleep so Edward quietly walked past them, taking Audrina's bag with him to his room. He turned towards Audrina and waved her over. They both entered his room. This one was nicer than the bedroom at the other hideout she'd seen. "The two of them are cute together." Audrina spoke after they closed the door.

"Well they were a couple before I ended up with them, they click together like two pieces of a puzzle though, so I usually try to let them have time to themselves if I can." He smirked as he noticed Audrina sitting on his bed and looking around the room. The two bookcases there were packed, he had a desk with a laptop on it, there was a board above it with bits of paper pinned to it, she couldn't read them from how far away she was. He walked over and sat down next to her. "Would you like to cuddle or even try more dear?"

He would never get tired of her blush. "Actually it's been a very long day. I'm sure you have energy to burn but do you mind if I just change into pajamas and sleep?" She played with the edge of her skirt, unsure how he'd respond.

"Of course that's fine. Do you still want privacy to change?" She blushed and shook her head. He stripped himself down to his boxers and undershirt and laid down on the bed, propped up so he could watch her change. He gave a frown when he noticed the cut on her leg was inflamed and irritated. "Audrina before you go to sleep I'm going to have to look at that cut again. She frowned and looked down at it, seeming to remember it was still there and hurting. Audrina walked over to him in just a slip, her arms and calves showing. She crossed her arms over herself and looked at him.

"Edward you could have chosen less revealing clothes for me. This is meant to go under a dress with thin material." He just answered her with a smirk before walking to the bathroom and returning with alcohol, gauze, and tape. She laid down on her stomach so he could get to the cut easier. "With everything going on, I actually forgot he stabbed my leg. I thought the pain was a pulled muscle."

He sat down next to her and stared to dab at the stitching. She gave a sharp hiss of pain and tried to curl in. He kept his hand on her leg to stop the movement. "It'll be over soon. It's been busy and I don't want this to get infected. Especially since I'm sure at the very least Jonathan's blood came in contact with this cut. You were soaked in it while healing him."

She turned her head towards him, he hated that look on her face. "I thought he was dead. I was so scared and felt numb at the same time. I wasn't thinking I just pulled him against me and that horrible sound I thought might have been just in my head stopped." He started to wrap her leg and when he finished she reached out to touch his hand with her fingers. "Jonathan must have tried very hard to prevent them from kidnaping Amber."

"They're somewhat well suited." Edward paused and looked at Audrina. "She made sure David's last moments were filled with hearing all his transgressions and sins. I'm not even sure I could have done that. Knelt next to a dying man and made sure he died in misery." He shook his head and walked away to put the supplies back. He came back and Audrina was already half asleep with her glasses on the nightstand. He walked over to the living room to see Nina and Diedre had gone to their room and headed back to his bed. He pulled the folded blanket from the foot of the bed and pulled it over the two of them as he curled around Arudina, holding her close.

He couldn't sleep, his mind was racing, he needed to do something anything. He pulled away from Audrina and looked down at her. Even in sleep she seemed stressed now. He walked over to his computer turning it on and letting it illuminate the room. He started planning puzzles for Batman, he wrote down a plan for the next time he worked with Scarecrow to steal some chemicals. He added to his gas mask design, digitizing a prototype that would filter the air even better and be slimmer and more comfortable. He did worry about Jonathans exposure to all those chemicals. He pressed his hands against his eyes. Why couldn't he focus anymore? He gave a sigh and looked at the time on his computer. He needed to try to sleep, he looked over at Audrina.

She was curled into a ball now, shuddering and making small whimpering sounds. He furrowed his brow and rushed over to curl up around her. He must have been to deep into his work to notice she was having a nightmare. As he pulled her against his chest he felt her start to relax, he did as well and soon the two of them were asleep. 


	15. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events, it seems everyone needs some time to recover.

He woke up to find Audrina gone. He quickly got up and rushed to the living room to see her sitting on the couch watching the news. He couldn't see her face but he saw the newscaster was talking about David Burgess and his multiple attempts to murder either Bruce Wayne or Audrina Hernandez, neither was available for comment so they could only guess as they were both attacked by the man. The reporter spoke about how David had apparently been Audrina's husband under a previous name and assumed there was a relationship between the two. It then cut to a scene of people pulling a body out of the Gotham River. The reporter on scene stated that it was identified as David Burgess and his brief reign of terror on the employees of Wayne industries was over.

He walked around her and picking up the remote, turned off the tv. She didn't even react as he sat next to her. "Audrina?" She just sat there, crying silently as she stared at the blank tv. He turned it back on, the news report was still on the David Burgess story, but people were being interviewed now. He saw Amber leaning against a closed door frame. Glaring at the reporter with messed up hair and obviously woken up not to long ago judging by the fact she was wearing jeans and one of Jon's shirts.

"Audrina is _unavailable_. She has gone through hell because of that piece of-" there a bleep and he heard a small laugh from Audrina next to him. "If that is his body that was just pulled out of the river. **Good**. You want to make it a _scandal_ that she was divorced from him and changed her name? Try doing some actual *bleep!* journalism and _research_ what happened. Find out why he was in jail when she was granted the divorce. Or _actually_ , I'll make it easier for you _Miss Vale_." He gave a small grin at the amount of venom in her voice. "He spent five years **torturing** my sister and using her as his slave. Then when the people at the hospital finally picked up on the fact that she was being abused horribly and called the police, he then pulled out his pocket knife and started to stab her right in front of them all. She's covered in scars from what he did to her and she _never said a word_."

Amber looked sad instead of angry. "I wanted help with homework. She was locked in the house so I broke in. Her face... she hides it with make up all the time now, but he didn't like that she shielded herself from the boiling water. It wasn't enough she got burns bad enough to scar on her chest, so he cut her along her jawline. God, she begged and pleaded for me not to say anything. That it was her punishment for not being enough." Her eyes hardened again and she looked straight at the camera, completely disregarding Vicky Vale. " **That** is the kind of man David Burgess was, a rapist, a sadist, a monster. He was obsessed with my sister and if he wasn't dead I'm sure I'd have to attend her funeral soon. He already tried to kill her twice. That's another reason she's unavailable. He managed to slice her leg when she was trying to escape him. She's supposed to be _resting_." Amber pushed herself off the doorframe and squared her shoulders. "Now go find someone else to harass because she ain't available and you vultures will *bleep* leave her alone!" She turned, opened the door, walked in and slammed it shut. The sounds of the lock and deadbolt easy to hear in the stunned silence.

Audrina leaned against Edward and he put his arms around her. She looked up at him, her face was blotchy from crying and she still looked exhausted. "You have such bright green eyes. I don't think I ever noticed just how vivid they are." He fought back a blush but felt the warmth hit his cheeks. "Look at me, the woman who made the Riddler blush." She put her head back down and he turned so it was against his chest. He ran his hand through her curly hair, hoping this meant Audrina was a bit closer to fine. "I don't know how to feel anymore Edward. I thought I was free before and I was getting better. What if this is just a false freedom like before?"

He pulled her tight. "He's dead. Even if he didn't die from blood loss he was most certainly dead when I stabbed him again in the chest. Even if he didn't die from that, he was tossed in the river and only today pulled out. There is no way for him to be alive. He cannot meddle in your affairs anymore. There is nothing, I repeat my dear, _nothing_ he can do to harm you anymore."

"I wish I could believe that, but I'm _scared_ Edward. I'm afraid I'm going to wake up and I'll be Amelia again." She pulled away from him and started pacing in front of the couch. "If that happened I think I'd kill myself."

"Like you tried to before?" He watched her freeze. She looked at the ground, guilt and shame easy to read on her face. "Audrina, everyone has their dark moments." He stood up and moved right in front of her. "You have people to go to now if you get dark thoughts." He placed his arms gently around her. "You have me to go to and I'm sure I'll give the best advice because you love me." He felt her chuckle softly into his chest before returning the hug.

"That's true. I do love you. I love you so much I'm afraid of losing you."

He pulled her tight and let go, taking a step back and grabbing her hands. "That's it, you need cuddles. Harley always gives me cuddles after a bad day with Batman and Echo and Query understand the need for just comfort. You're going to stay in bed, rest that leg I'll probably have to check out again, and be surrounded by love. I'm not sure it's the best medicine, but almost every female I know says it is." By the time he finished rambling he was blushing and had guided her to the bed. "Now lie down."

She gave a small sigh and refrained from rolling her eyes. "Yes sir."

"Audrina, if you're going to be calling me Sir that would involve a lot less clothing and not cuddling at all." He gave a wink and smirked at the way her face turned red and she moved to lie on her stomach.

"Shush you and check out the leg. I don't think I've aggravated it. I haven't really noticed the pain." She furrowed her brows and moved her head to look at him. "Is that bad?"

"Dear I'm sure you'll notice it when your mind is finally clear of other things." He pulled up her dress to the knee and looked over the leg. The stitches looked irritated, she was getting close to pulling them out. "I'm going to bandage this tighter. You almost pulled your stitches out." She nodded her head and closed her eyes, wincing in pain as he put mild pressure on the cut. Once he finished he laid back down on the bed next to her and pulled her close. "Would you like to be the little or big spoon dear? Which would comfort you more?"

She bit her lip and looked at his neck to avoid his searching gaze. "Could I be the big spoon and just hold you? That way when I have the nightmare of not being able to stop David with his gun in time I can see I still have you?"

He wiggled close to her and gave her a kiss on the lips. "That's completely understandable dear." He then turned over and gave a sigh of contentment as she curled around him, her chin settling in the crook of his neck. He felt her breathing even out and knew she'd fallen asleep again. He pulled his phone out and began texting Jon to find out more of what happened. He also made sure to check with his contacts to make sure to get a copy of David's forensic report; as proof he really was dead. Just a precaution, not sinking into Audrina's fear.

They laid together for about an hour before he felt Audrina twitching and flinching. He kept still wondering what she was having a nightmare of. Suddenly she sat up with a gasp and had her arm thrown out to push someone. He could see she was sweating and gasping for air, so he slowly sat up and placed a hand on her still outstretched arm. "Audrina?" She snapped her head over to him and lunged for him, her head against his chest and just sobbing. "Riddle me this Audrina, if you're _living_ in the US, why can't you be buried in Mexico?"

He heard her hiccup and pause in her sobbing. "Because I'm alive?"

"That's right Audrina. You. Are. Alive." He ran his fingers through her hair, noticing it calmed her. "And if I have anything to say about it, you will stay alive for a very long time. You had so many come to your defense yesterday-"

She cut him off by sitting up quickly. "I'm so selfish! Is everyone alright? Did anyone get hurt? Do I need to go heal anyone or do they need to come here to be healed?"

He gave her a puzzled frown. "Didn't you notice Audrina? When you were healing me you healed everyone in the room. First when Ivy touched my shoulder, then it just spread out to everyone. I have a feeling if Harvey had been standing closer you probably would have even healed the acid burns he has." He paused and pursed his lips. "Though he has gotten them surgically fixed before, but that's his own battle with his psyche, not your problem to solve."

She gave a sigh of relief and a tired smile. "So everyone is safe?" He nodded in response and she curled against him. "I'm sorry I'm such a _mess_ today."

"You probably need to eat, I'm sure. I'll see if there's anything Echo and Query want. Also I should check if I even stocked the kitchen here." He held her hand as she climbed out of the bed after him and left her to go looking in the kitchen while he checked on Query and Echo. He looked in their room and saw a note saying they were heading back to Star City for their business there. "Looks like it's just us dear. The girls left this morning for Star City. They do enjoy keeping Green Arrow busy over there!" He shouted back over his shoulder as he frowned and began straightening up their room.

He jumped at hearing Audrina's voice in the doorway. "You need to keep things in order. **Actually** need to." His face flushed in shame. _OCD_ the doctors called it, he hated it. He was _not_ compulsed to do these things, he wanted it. "That's alright dear. I'll help." She started picking up a few items, placing clothes in a bin and fixing the bookcase order.

"No dear it's by Author, not Title." She turned and gave him a smile before fixing it. He wondered how he ended up with someone so supportive. He straightened the bed sheets and found another note under one of the pillows. ' _Knew you'd find this, don't get caught while we're gone boss! Love ya!'_ He gave a smile, one of the usual secondary goodbye notes from his girls. He picked up the second pillow to fix the case when he saw another note. This one only in Nina's handwriting. ' _Boss, I'm not sure how much of her heritage Audrina follows but I remember some of the Mexican funerals as a child. Go buy a bottle of tequila and a candle for her. Let her light it in his memory and maybe organize a get together where everyone takes a drink and gives a good memory. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if they were memories of other people who've passed, but it might go a ways to letting her heal. If he's forgotten he's gone for good, I don't know her as well as you do boss but she's too nice to let him be completely forgotten. Though her sis might remember him for a long time out of spite.'_ He gave a nod to himself, folding it and tucking it away in his pocket. Maybe seeing their friends might be helpful to her.

He walked over to her, having fixed up and reorganized everything in the room. He gave a smile to himself as she glanced over to him, making sure she organized it the way he wanted. "Author then title, right dear?" She gave a small smile, her shoulders tucking in slightly.

"It's perfect." He gave her a kiss and guided her out of the room back to the living room. "Were you able to find anything in the kitchen?" She shook her head. "I suppose we should go out to eat then. I should probably wear just a normal suit in case any of those _vultures_ find you." She sat on the couch and watched him walk into his room to change, hopefully a white top and blue slacks would be enough of a change he'd ben fine. He placed a pair of glasses on as well, hiding his eyes slightly.

She was still sitting on the couch when he returned, but this time she turned and gave him a tight smile when he exited the bedroom. She stood up and straightened her dress as he walked up to her. He gave her an arm so she could keep some weight off of her injured leg and he could feel closer to her. They left the building and climbed into his car, she turned towards him. "Where did you want to go eat?"

"I thought we could get chinese then bring some leftovers for you sister and Jonathan."

"I like that idea hun." She looked down at her hands and he glanced at her before looking back to the road. "I hope they're both handling this whole incident better than I am."

"If anything I see Jonathan worrying about the fact the he cares enough about your sister to panic and fight for her rather than escape and contact us. He doesn't like to care about others." Edward gave a short pause. "Maybe it's more like he doesn't want people to know he cares. He's fine with small signs of affection and Scarecrow has protected me before, you as well, but he could brush off caring about me as a ' _beneficial acquaintanceship_ ' and you he's already stated it was because of your terror and the ' _gift of test subjects_ '. Amber though? He can't use those excuses. Sure they've got some kind of relationship but he **panicked** when she was taken. I wouldn't be surprised if he needed some time to himself after all this." They pulled up to the restaurant and ordered some food to go before Edward leaned against a wall holding Audrina close to him. They waited in silence, content to just be there.

Soon their food was ready and they headed back to Audrina's apartment. They entered the building where Audrina was accosted by Vicky Vale. "There you are! Audrina what do you have to say about the recent events concerning your ex husband?"

At an almost imperceptible nod Edward continued up the stairs while Audrina turned back towards Miss Vale. "I don't believe I have anything to say about all of this. He was a cruel man, everything was his to take and if he didn't die I'm sure I would." With that she turned and walked away, ignoring Vicky Vale's calls after her. She could hear music and Amber singing as she neared the slightly open door. She gave a smile as she realized her sister was singing the perfect song for the occasion. " _Where do we go from here_?"

"Well, they say the curtains close on a kiss gone close sis, but I don't think we get a curtain close." Audrina replied with a smile as she opened the door the rest of the way. Jonathan jumped to a sitting position from where he had been lying on the couch. Audrina took a moment to look over him while Edward pulled plates and silverware out in the kitchen. He looked like he hadn't slept very much, his hair was a mess. He'd attempted to pull it into a ponytail but he didn't even try to brush it or do anything to tame the afro it was trying to become. She gave a frown and walked over to her bathroom, returning with a wet cloth and a wide tooth comb. "Jonathan, let me brush your hair." She climbed to sitting on the back on the couch with her legs on either side of him while he bristled and flinched away.

Amber sat down and turned off the tv, watching the two of them. "Where did you learn to brush black hair?" She paused and looked at Jonathan, noticing him sigh. "Is that the right term?"

"It's... acceptable. I cannot change my heritage and this is one part of it that is there for the world to see. Even though it's been relaxed before."

Edward came by with four plates of chinese food as Audrina tied off Jonathan's hair and sat down next to him. " _Jonathan Crane_? In a beauty parlor getting his hair done? That I **cannot** see."

"I bought an at home kit dammit!" He growled at Edward, picking up his fork and stabbing at an egg roll.  
  
" _Dear_ don't antagonize him, and Amber I learned it same as I learned most of my skills. Jumping from foster home to foster home. Now, let's all eat together." They ate in relative silence. Edward and Amber spoke a bit. He told her how impressed he was that she was able to keep talking to anger David even through all the whippings. Audrina pressed her shoulder against Jonathan's when he flinched at that. When they finished Jonathan stood up quickly and took his plate to the sink.

"I should work on my formula some more, perhaps work on the canisters and incorporating them into my gloves." He spoke dispassionately, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Just a glance at Amber could see some of her happiness melt away.

"Would you like some company?" Amber sounded so unsure of herself, realizing in that moment that what he needed was to be alone. She was already over her torture, having never doubted being saved. He needed time to sort through all of his thoughts, especially as he'd not have a moment alone during the trip to Utah either.

"No." He glanced up at her quickly, his cold blue eyes softened at bit at her lively green ones. "I'll let you know when I do though." He walked over to the spare, now Amber's bedroom and came back out with a suitcase. She quickly walked in front of him before he reached the door and grabbing him by his shirt gave him a hard kiss.

"Don't forget you have people that care." He nodded at her and left the apartment. Amber sighed as the door closed and flopped on the couch so her head was in Audrina's lap. "I don't know what to do with that man. He switches from hot to cold so easily."

"It takes time, but you'll soon be able to read his moods. Right now for instance? He _does_ need time to think over things. The two of you haven't even been in this-" Edward paused and waved his hand around, " _relationship_ for very long and he almost got himself killed trying to save you. That's big for him. It took me almost three years of friendship before he'd even throw a roll of gauze my way without bitching about it." Amber and Audrina chuckled at the mental image. "That's with the occasional living and sleeping together." He gave a smirk at looked at Amber who was surely thinking about it from the way she blushed. "By the way, an excellent gift idea for him? Vampire gloves. I'm surprised he doesn't have any, or at least he never brought them out for me."

" _Oh_ he has a pair." It was Amber's turn to smirk while Audrina looked at the two of them confused.

"Do I even want to know?" She held her hands up, "Wait- this is some kinky stuff isn't it?" Her boyfriend and sister nodded. "I don't think I'm up for knowing yet." Her phone rang and Amber jumped. Audrina just laughed and answered it. "Hello? You need me to heal who? Alright where should I meet you at? What do you mean you're sending a car? You don't know where I-" She sighed and glared at the phone in her hand. "Pompous pigeon!"

"Penguin has requested your services." Edward casually stated while Audrina was still debating throwing the phone. "He has his connections. He tries to keep his finger is every pie, so to speak." He rubbed his chin and glanced out the window. "I see a black sedan down the street. That may be your ride. Penguin will make sure you're safe if he needs someone healed. He might even pay you."

Audrina bristled and gave an empty glare at Edward, "I do not need to be paid to do the right thing." She glared at the phone again. "Maybe I just need a place where I can actually heal people instead of being called to meet them in unknown locations." She turned and left, Edward looked over at Amber and leaned forward with his chin resting on his hand.

"Amber, that room is already a bit crowded now with Audrina's sewing supplies is it not?" 

"Well yeah, but what's that got to do with anything?"

"Nothing, just an idea I just had. Perhaps Audrina does need a place of her own." Amber looked at him confused before just shaking her head and walking away. "Amber, take another shower and a nap. There's still some dried blood by your ear and your eyes are bloodshot. You need to appear in tip top shape for when your father arrives with your valuables." 


	16. Start of the safe haven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A couple months has passed and all the rogues now go to Audrina for healing.

She gasped and gave a soft smile at Edward as they drove up to a bed and breakfast for sale. "Is this the place you were talking about?" He gave a nod and looked up at it.

"If we're going to go through with the idea, you need a proper place, not an apartment where the police could be called by any of your nosy neighbors or Batman could show up." He held her hand for a moment before they both left the car.

"Hun, if we follow my plan of Safe Haven, I'm sure he will show up, but for the same reasons as everyone else. To be healed." He loved the way she lit up looking at the house for sale. He knew he'd need to do a few things, build in a basement for himself being the first one. There was a large backward, so they could even build a green house for Poison Ivy if Audrina wanted. "Are we able to look around?"

He just smiled at her with a nod, placing an arm around her shoulders and guiding her towards the B&B. "I called up an agent I know and she's going to show us around the place dear." They looked around the place and Audrina pause when she saw a small closet under the stairs. It was probably to hold cleaning supplies out of the way but it made her think of another time, a far away time when her best friend and her hid in one to escape their foster mother's rage.

_She could feel a hand holding hers tightly and felt comforted in the fact she was not alone in the dark. Jayla was right there with her, dark arms wrapped around her and one hand holding hers while the other was over her mouth to keep her from giving them away. She knew it would only been a few hours until their foster mother calmed down or passed out on the couch. The tears felt cold against her face. This whole thing started because she needed a doctor for her fever. When their mother started screaming and throwing things around, claiming they didn't have the money for little rats who weren't worth a family Jayla took one look at her and grabbed her. They ran and she hid them in the closet._

"Audrina?" _She knew that voice. It was so faint, but she could still feel Jayla's arms wrapped around her._ She looked down, the hand was the wrong color. "Audrina? Are you alright?"

"Jayla and I used to have to hide in one of these. Our foster mother hated spending extra money on us and every time she threw a fit we hid. Lamar would argue back with her, he was stronger and was the first to run away. I was too recognizable to join Jayla when she ran away. She said she'd go back to Georgia in search of her family. She wasn't born into the system like I was. She was a metahuman and her family hated it, so they left her and she was just another kid in the system." Edward held her tight and placed his chin on her head.

"Let's head home Audrina. I think you need some rest." She nodded and he spoke to the realtor, saying they'd liked the place but needed to discuss it over. "Come along Audrina and you can tell me all about Jayla. She was the one you picked up the accent from wasn't she?"

"I knew up up until I was 10. She was 16 then and ran away. A 10 year old with purple hair stands out. A black 16 year old girl can blend in though." Audrina ran a hand through her hair, frowning at the curls of purple. "I used to receive postcards from her, but then I changed my name a second time and I haven't heard from her since. She looked out the car window at the city passing them by. "I wonder if I could ever find her again."

"My dear, I can play detective for you if it means reuniting you with an old friend." Edward smiled at her. "I do have some business that needs attending later my dear."

"I know hun. You've had this plan in motion for a while now. Should I hide somewhere out of sight to do any nessicary healing or just stay at my apartment during the whole thing?" She smiled at him and held his hand as they continued driving.

"I would prefer you stay safe dear." He turned off the car and they walked into her apartment complex, his arm around her shoulders and his fingers lightly playing with the lapel of her jacket. "There is always a chance one of the Bat Brats could mistake you for a lacky and try to hurt you." She gave a nod and leaned against him while they rode the elevator.

They opened the door and Audrina walked over to the whiteboard to read the note from her sister after placing her coat on one of the barstools, 'At Jon's tonight and tomorrow. See ya later!' She gave a small laugh at the smiley face Amber had drawn. "I guess it's just us tonight dear."

Edward smiled to himself and walked over to Audrina, placing his arms around her waist as he bent down to place his mouth next to her ear. "Is that so?" She gave a small shiver and took a sharp breath as he kissed her neck. "We could have a lovely evening together." He ran his hands over her, lightly brushing against her breasts as he nipped her neck. "Just you and me tonight love." At her gasp he straightened up and walked away, leaving the ball in her court as he sat down on the couch. He loved the way her face flushed whenever she became aroused.

She walked over, took a steadying breath and climbed on top of him, lips pressing against his as he wrapped his arms around her hips. She started running her hands through his hair and pressing against him, he pressed his lips to her neck and nipped her lightly. Audrina gave a moan and started to grind against him. He moved his hands to slide up her legs and massage her thighs under her dress. Her hands moved from his hair to his tie, removing it and tossing it to the side as she started kissing his neck and jawline. She gave a gasp as his fingers trailed further upwards, tracing and pulling at her underwear.

He pulled her head so his mouth was by her ear, "Do you think we could try again tonight?" She nodded and he gave a groan as she cupped him.

"Although the bed might be better than the couch." Yet she trailed her hand back upwards and used both to start unbuttoning his shirt and moving his hands for just long enough to remove his button down and his undershirt. Instead of putting his hand back where it had been once, he rested it on her hip while the other reached for the zipper on her dress. He then stood up and pulled her legs around him and walked the two of them to the bedroom.

"Should we undress ourselves or each other my dear?" He asked after coaxing her to stand on the floor in front of him.

She reached for his belt buckle and started kissing wherever she could reach, "I think undressing each other might be better." Her dress was sliding down her shoulders and exposing her dark skin and green lacy bra as she knelt down infront of him. "Though this might help if you were to sit on the bed and let me finish undressing you?" He wordlessly complied as he felt his mouth dry. She pulled down his pants, slid off his shoes and socks, then pulled off his pants before reaching up and pulling him from his boxers. She gave a giggle before looking up to make eye contact with him, "Someone's eager," before taking him in her mouth with one motion.

"I'm very eager. We've progressed enough lately I hope tonight might be it." He leaned back with a groan, "Though of course I do enjoy being in your mouth." His hands tightened around the sheets while she twirled her tongue around the head of his penis. "I _do_ hope to last inside of you dear." With a pop she released him from her mouth. He sat back up as she stood in front of him.

She started to pull her dress off but he stood up and placed his hands on her arms. "I believe it's my turn to do the undressing." He bent down and started to kiss her mouth, trailing down to her shoulder and back up her neck while he pulled the dress down so it pooled on the floor around her feet. He straightened up and took in the whole sight of her in a matching set of bra and panties before looking further down to see a black garter belt holding up her nylons. He ran his hands over her before unclipping her bra and hungrily watching her breasts spill out. He unclipped the garter belt and pulled down both it and her underwear. He maneuvered her so she was against the bed. "Please, remove your nylons." He bit back a groan as he watched her coyly and slowly roll them down before removing them and tossing off the belt and underwear hanging off her legs.

She scooted further up the bed and laid down on her back. He could see her nervousness mixed with her want to completely give in. She gave an uncertain smile and put one arm above her head to fight the urge to cover herself. "Edward, I want to do it. I want you inside me. For certain this time."

"Audrina my dear, as much as I would love to dive straight in so to speak. We need to go slowly because of how long it's been since you last had sex." She bit her lip and looked up at the ceiling. "We will do everything we've managed to do before. You need to be plenty relaxed before I try going in you. I'm a tad bigger than a couple fingers." He chuckled to himself as she gave a sigh and then a nervous laugh. He then crawled up the bed, kissing his way up her legs before kissing around her. Her nervous laugh soon turned into a moan as he flicked his tongue over her clit. He sucked on it briefly before placing a kiss right on her opening and sliding his tongue inside her. She arched against him, giving a small moan. He then continued to eat her out before slipping a finger inside of her and curling it inside, making her gasp and arch up much to his amusement. He could see her fingers curl around the blanket and spasm.

He proceeded to eat her out and with the help of two fingers brought her to an orgasm. Instead of slowing down he added a third and continued as she screamed his name and grabbed a fistful of his hair as she reached her second climax. He crawled up her and started trailing his fingers over her body before pausing with his cock resting against her entrance. "Are you sure about this?" She nodded and pulled him into a kiss before bucking her hips against him. He groaned as he slid in a bit. He pushed himself up and started to ease into her, rocking back and forth.

He kept eye contact with her while he slowly moved back and forth pushing himself further inside. She kept gasping and moaning, her eyes fluttering shut and opening up again to lock with his. When he was fully in her she wrapped her legs around his hips and gave a broad smile while heavily breathing. "We're having sex. I didn't freak out or shut down this time. We're actually doing it." He gave a breathy laugh as well.

"I hope you don't mind, but I need to speed up." She gave a breathy laugh and nodded. He then shifted so he was kneeling before her and grabbing her hips began to slide in and out of her, increasing his pace until they were both moaning. He was sweating from the struggle to keep himself from orgasming, she was so tight around him and very responsive. She was arching up and he could feel her spasming around him as she shouted his name and he increased until he too had his own orgasm. He shifted so he laid down next to her instead of on.

"That was incredible. Is it always that good?" She tried to catch her breath while she rolled so she was half on him, her head resting over his heart. She placed a kiss on his chest before putting her head back down. She felt relaxed and jittery at the same time.

"There's many different positions to try, some might be much better, others just as good, and some only better for one of us." He placed one arm under his head while curling the other around her. "Everyone has preferences. We'll find yours." He placed a kiss on the top of her hair. "Although I do suggest we both shower, I for one am sweating from the absolute struggle of trying to keep a slow pace." The way he said it just made her start laughing.

She got up and started to walk into the bathroom, he watched her until he looked towards her legs and saw his cm trailing down one. In a panic he shot up and gasped before his brain quickly reminded him she took birth control pills along with her medications. She turned at the doorway and smiled at him. "Aren't you coming? You're usually looking for some excuse to join me in the shower."

He gave a small smile and followed after her. "Of course. I will always appreciate the chance to gaze upon you." They stood under the water together cleaning eachother and kissing when they could. "I do want to know if you are experiencing any soreness okay?" She nodded. "Here's a riddle darling what do the towels say for married snakes?"

She shook her head with a laugh. "I haven't a clue. What do they say?"

"Hiss and Hers." They both chuckled at the joke. "Though I think for me it would be His, his, his, and theirs."

"I think Nina and Diedre would take a slight offence to being merely labeled 'yours' darling."

"True." He wrapped a towel around her while she tied one at his waist. "They will always choose each other before me, but we were a great triad." He led her back to the bed and they both laid down together, she was once again curled against him as he laid on his back. "Although now we're more than a triad, we have you too love."

She smiled up at him. "You know I don't have the same relationship with them as with you. We're more close friends than anything."

"Someday dear, at your own pace. None of us will try to push you. Remember that." He ran a hand up and down her back until she fell asleep. He smirked to himself and fell asleep for a nap, confident in his relationship and the plans he had in motion.

He woke up a couple hours later and pulled himself from Audrina's arms without her waking. "I'll return soon dear. I will defeat Batman with this plan." He gave her a soft kiss and after getting dressed left her apartment.

When Audrina woke up it was to the buzzing of her phone and complete darkness. "Edward?" She looked at the phone and saw him calling her. "Edward?" There was coughing and sounds of running on the other end.

"He cheated again." She couldn't hear anything more from his coughing and the sounds of his shoes running on concrete. She sat up and looked towards her balcony, hoping the call was just a preface to his returning.

"Give it up Nygma. You're going to Arkham this time." Her blood chilled, 'no' her mind kept repeating. She didn't want Edward captured and torn away from her. Things were going well, she had finally taken the step forward intimately.

"No Batman! I **won't** be going back there! Not again!" The phone clattered to the ground and she could hear sounds of fighting. They were arguing, she could hear their voices but not make out their words. She heard someone hitting the ground and Batman's voice again.

"I'm sorry Audrina, but you'll have to see him in Arkham next time."

"Why isn't he speaking?" She tried not to shout, but she was panicking. Even if she was friends with Bruce, she knew how rough he could be as Batman. "Batman! Tell me why he's not talking to me."

There was a tense silence, followed by a sigh. "I may have had to knock him out." She gave a small wail, not wanting to imagine how much of a beating he could have actually received. "Audrina, even you know he needs to be treated. He's ill and Arkham can fix him."

"They'll torture him! Very few of the doctors there actually care and the guards are worse! They receive basic medical care if you'd even call it that!" She got up and started to get dressed, angrily tossing on her clothing and grabbing her purse and keys.

"I'm sorry Audrina, but we both know he needs to be treated. He's obsessed with Riddles and it's a compulsion. He can't go without telling them." Batman hung up the phone and Audrina threw it in the car as she climbed in, driving to Arkham. She pulled up and saw the Batmobile already there, leaving her purse in the car she walked right up to the doors.

She looked up at the imposing building. It wasn't her first visit, but something felt different, darker than the last time she'd been here. She took a breath and walked in, she saw Batman and quickly walked over to him, interrupting his conversation with a guard. "Take me to him."

The imposing looking black man turned to her. "You can't just come waltzing in here-" She placed a hand up on his chest without even looking at him. Batman watcher her hand glow purple and knew Aaron Cash's hand was regrowing. The other guards did not and pointed their guns at her. She flinched slightly but kept her stare on Batman. A much softer voice caught her attention and she turned towards the guard. "My... hand." He looked between her and Batman. "She just regrew my hand."

"He's the one in charge?" Batman just shrugged and with a huff she turned towards Aaron Cash. "Audrina Hernandez. I'm looking for my boyfriend who was just brought in here unconcious. I've heard about the substandard medical care and ask of this offer. I provide healing to anyone in here in need of it, guard, villian, person that hurt themselves in a bad fit, as long as I can check in on my friends."

He jerked back like he'd been burned. "You're actually dating that criminal? You're friends with those nut jobs?!"

She pulled up the courage she knew Harley would show here. "Look here Mister! I just grew back your hand. Those villains are the ones who have never treated me differently, powers or not. The only who you could ever say treated me differently is Dr. Crane, and he asked me if he could send his idiot employees to me to be healed. Apparently an irritated scientist does not pay attention to what he throws and for such a thin man he's strong."

"Come on, let her fix them up so we don't have to deal with the nurses bitching! Plus what's a dumpy little thing like her going to do anyways?" Audrina shoved down the flinch at the weight comment and merely gave what she hoped passed for an impassive stare at the guard who spoke for her.

The man standing in front of her gave a huff and looked at Batman. "You know her? She knows you but I gotta check."

"She may be firm friends with many of the rouges, but she heals everyone she can. I even saw her rescue a girl from Hatter once."

Audrina opened and closed her mouth. "That man creeps me out, as far as he knows her headband fell off and it stays that way." She allowed the first sign of weakness to show as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Mind control like that is too close to rape. It is, even if he never touched her." She looked up at Batman. "How did you see me? It was early in the morning. I was on my way to the sewers."

"I was on my way home." He gave a smirk as she glared at him. "I can help escort you to Nygma. He's not as hurt as you think."

"Lies. You've been rougher since-" She paused not wanting to bring up a painful memory that was still fresh. "Since Joker killed Robin. That sweet kid. I wish I had been there."

"If you were with him you would have died in the explosion too. I didn't reach him in time." For the first time in the night she placed a hand on him, the purple light started to cover him and she could her a sigh of relief.

"Tell me when you're injured Batman. I may be mad at you for hurting Riddler, but that doesn't mean I won't heal you." They came upon a locked door and waited for it to be open before she saw Riddler cuffed to a gurney. The harsh white lights of the infirmary didn't make him look any better. Her hands covered her mouth for a moment before she rushed over to him. "Oh dear, oh hun. I'm here." She placed a hand on his chest and the glow enveloped him as she ran her other hand through his red hair. "Oh love, one day you'll realize you are just as smart as Batman. He has help from others though and that's how he always wins. You try to take on the world alone and that's why you're here." She could see his breathing even out and gave a small smile realizing he was asleep as the glow faded. She kissed him on the lips and then turned towards the shocked looking guards. "Who else needs healing?"

"Well, Joker had his jaw broken in a fight last week but we like the silence-" The younger man trailed off at her glare. "There's also a few of the lower level inmates, they've all got some sort of infection half the guards are suffering from."

"And I'm assuming you are all so short staffed the sick guards are still coming into work, correct?" He gave a small nod. "Take me to them. I should heal Joker too even though he tried to kill me on live tv."

The guard perked up and she could tell he was new from how energetic he was, perhaps that's why the one talking with Batman assigned him to her. "I was watching that! Who threw the javelin that saved you? Batman and Batgirl were both fighting and I didn't see Robin anywhere."

She gave a laugh and smiled up at the kid, "Riddler did."

"You're shittin' me? That guy who can't shut up about riddles and how stupid we all are saved you?" The kid took off his helmet as he guided her in a staff room, the 5 occupants where either slumped in chairs or nursing coffees. "Hey guys! Got a healer here!" She bit her lip from the smile that formed when one rolled their eyes. She walked around the room, tapping them on the shoulders and watching the purple burn away at the sickness they shared.

"Damn Drew, where did you find her?" One of the women who'd been nursing her coffee exclaimed.

"I didn't! She knows Batman and the rogues. She came here because-" he looked around and raised a hand in a mock conspiratorial whisper, "They also hate the nurses." A chuckle ran around the room as he motioned towards the door. "Can you heal without touch? A few of the inmates we're going to visit get violent and some of them aren't a high enough level to be strapped to their beds at night. So far it's only the Joker we keep strapped up."

She gave a nod, "It requires more focus but yes I can."

"Awesome!" And so they went through the asylum, Audrina healing as she went along until they had made a circle back to Riddler's regular cell.

He'd been stripped of his costume and shoved into an orange jumpsuit with a simple name patch on it stating "Nygma". He was sitting on his bed slouched over and looking at his hands when the guard knocked on the glass. "Riddle me this, who wants to be left _alone_?"

Audrina placed a hand on the plexiglass serving as his cell door. "I hope the answer isn't you darling."

Drew would not tell another soul, but he watched Nygma's head snap up and he rushed towards her, his hands were on the glass and Drew would swear he'd never seen a man look so hopeful and hopeless at the same time. "Audrina? What are you doing in this place? This is hell! You can't be here. No, I must be dreaming."

"How do you think you're healed darling?"

"I thought you might have gotten to me before here. I hoped you would not come in. They'll think you're crazy for loving someone like me." She gave a soft smile and placed her hand through the slot they pushed meals in through. He grasped her hand a placed a kiss on it, holding it as if it were a precious jewel.

"They know not to bother me. I grew a mans hand back while demanding to see you." He scoffed and shook his head. "I promised to do healing for them in exchange to visit you."

He gave one of his smirks and raised an eyebrow. "Ah Miss Audrina, are you going to be playing doctor with me?" She blushed and smacked the hand holding hers. "Alright dear. I am glad you did not join me, though I doubt the outcome would be any different." He kissed her hand again before backing away and laughing. "You need a sexy nurse uniform dear." She gave a halfhearted glare before laughing along with him. 


	17. The healer of all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrina begins to help more than just those who ask.

She stood slightly behind of Bruce Wayne at a press conference, "As I'm sure many of you know, I and Wayne Enterprises helps out Arkham Asylum in hopes of bettering these members of society and reintegrating them one day. Well today I'm here to announce that along with my annual donation one of my employees has volunteered to donate her time and abilities to help these patients as well." He turned and smiled as he motioned Audrina forward. "This is Audrina Hernandez, and as I'm sure many of you also know she is a metahuman. Audrina, would you like to explain how you will help the patients of Arkham Asylum?"

She gave a small smile to Bruce before turning back to the reporters. She tried to ignore the flashing lights and looked directly at the cameras instead. "I am a Metahuman and I have the ability to heal others. With a simple touch I can repair broken bones, I can heal those who have hurt themselves or those that the staff are wary of being near."

A tall man with broad shoulders reached his microphone closer and spoke. "Miss Hernandez, you've been attacked by some of the patients here before. Will that affect your ability to heal them?"

She closed her eyes and took a breath before replying. She could feel all the cameras focusing on her and it felt too much. "They are ill. I can heal, therefore I will heal. I do not discriminate if that is what you are insinuating. If I can help others, I will. It does not matter if they are good or bad. Vigilante or villain, I will heal them." She turned towards Bruce Wayne before speaking again. "I believe that is all I'm needed here for Mr. Wayne?" He gave a nod and she walked away, climbing into the backseat of his limo. He stepped forward and continued to speak to the reporters. "Alfred, I have no idea how he does this so often."

He looked back at her from the book he had been reading during the wait. " _Practice and Patience._ " She just gave a sigh and picked up her folders to read through the latest documents.

"Well I look forward to actually helping people in a way that isn't harassing Batman to let me through to them." She looked through the tinted window to the building that housed Edward currently and gave a small smile. "I'll also get to see him too." Audrina turned her head back to the other door when Bruce entered.

"Everything is now handled, three days a week you will go to Arkham after work and with the accompaniment of a guard you can go around healing those in need of it." He gave a small laugh, "Batman included when he drops off an inmate."

She just shook her head at him, "Batman and his companions can always be healed by me. My words up there were truthful. Vigilante or villain I will help." He could see the determination in her eyes. She had found a goal and this was just a step towards it. "I realize many people need help and I will do my best." He gave her a soft smile before leaning back in his seat. Audrina buckled herself up and raised an eyebrow at Bruce just lounging in the car with no seatbelt while Alfred drove. She looked over at Alfred and ha gave a small shrug as if to say 'what can you do?'.

The next day it felt like work could not finish fast enough. Once her day was done she climbed into her car and drove to the asylum. The guards checked her in and the young one she had met before was assigned to her. "Wow! You actually came back? This is exciting, Dr. Arkham gave a list of what areas we should hit up for each day. It looks like everday we get to see the Rogues, but first stop everyday is to check on the guards. We're also the last stop as well." He chattered excitedly as she walked next to him, calm and content she would see Edward.

Most of the guards were in good health, one who had been leaving shift as she came in and saw her healing powers brought in his wife. She was sitting in the only rolling chair and barely able to keep her head up. Audrina took one look at her and rushed over, grabbing onto one hand and placing the other on the womans head. She looked up and the guard standing with his hands on her shoulders. "She should be in a hospital."

The grim faced man frowned and stepped over to kneel next to Audrina. "She was, they said there was nothing more they could do for her. Her lungs are too scarred and they sent her home to die. I-" He paused and ran his fingers over his wife's knuckles. "I saw you heal my coworkers and heard you regrew Cash's hand. You can heal her, right?" Audrina gave a nod and smiled up at the woman before them. "Kelly?" He looked up and saw his wife, her face was flush and she was taking deep open breaths. Audrina let go of her and stepped back to stand next to Drew. They left the room and Audrina smiled to herself as she saw the couple just holding onto each other and crying.

" **Wow**. That was something!" Drew exclaimed once they walked a ways down the hallway. "Next will be the Rogues Gallery, the ones that are in anyways and right now they should all be in the rec room." She gave a nod as she watched their surroundings. "Mr. Wayne argued against you visiting at this time, but the big boss insisted and since you are only a volunteer you do have the right to quit if they're ever too much." She just gave a knowing smile as she shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah I don't think either of them remembered your thing with Riddler."

"Relationship. I'm in a relationship with him. Harley is my best friend and I get along with Ivy and Catwoman quite well."

"Well, here we are. I have to stand by the door in case I need to hit the alarm button, but you are free to step closer in." He stood off to the side with his hands behind his back. She looked around the room, Harvey was sitting in a chair and reading a book. Jervis and a balding man with glasses and a nervous look were sitting on the couch watching Joker and Riddler yell at eachother.

Audrina walked up to Harvey and stood next to him until he looked up. "Would you like me to try healing your scars Mr. Dent?" He gave a grunt and waved her off after flipping his coin. "Alright. I will ask when I visit though, just so you know." She walked over to the two small men sitting on the couch. "Do either of you need healing? Or perhaps have an answer as to what is going on between Riddler and the Joker?" She turned and looked at the two men yelling and pointing fingers at each other.

They turned towards each other and to her, the balding man speaking with a nasally voice. "I believe they were arguing about you. _If_ you're Riddler's girlfriend?" She smiled and gave a nod. "The Joker made some comments about your weight and some rather _derogatory_ comments about matters I'd really rather not bring up." He twirled his thumbs around each other and looked back in his lap. "It's not right what he said miss, and it's not right for him to make such comments about your personal lives."

"He said I was too fat for Riddler and I to have sex or something along those lines didn't he?" Hatter nodded profusely and held a hand out for her.

"I sprained my wrist the other day if you would please?" She reached out and touched his hand, noticing he sighed in relief as he moved his hand around in a circle. "Thank you kindly." She patted the other man on the shoulder as she walked by, easing some muscle aches in his shoulders. She knew his posture would cause pain but the man just seemed to want to curl in on himself.

She frowned and rolled her shoulders back before walking up to the two arguing men. She shoved Joker away from Riddler and as he started to yell at her she ignored him and turning towards Riddler she grabbed the front of his top and pulled him down for a kiss. They both ignored the purple glow between them as she pulled away. "Now what was it you were saying Joker? Something about our sex life?" She turned and looked over at the clown, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised as Edward placed his chin on her head and his arms loosely hanging on her shoulders. SHe felt confident with him behind her. "If you really want details I have a feeling Edward wouldn't mind bragging, but he's never had an issue keeping up with my weight. He's strong enough to lift me." She just knew the man was smirking above her. One glance at the guards looking like they were trying not to laugh sealed it for her. "Or are you just saying those things because you know you couldn't handle a girl my size? Or is it any girl? I heard Harley finally left you."

"Now see here! Harls always comes back to me from that plant bitch!" He stomped up to her, a finger in her face and she motioned one hand down when a guard reached for his gun.

"Joker. I'm hear to fix up any scrapes you may have gotten since a couple weeks ago when I healed your broken jaw. Remember that? How I was kind enough to heal you after you kidnapped me, smacked me, threatened to beat me, and then tried to kill me? Not to mention outing me as a metahuman!" He pulled his hand back, crossing his arms and pouting. "Now you jerk, do you need me to heal you?"

He huffed and held out a hand to her. "I'd appreciate some healing if you can ease the aches from the horrible mattresses. It's not even a _joke_ how bad they are!" She just shook her head at him and touched his wrist instead, not entirely trusting him to not have a buzzer. Judging by the pout he gave she was correct. She didn't bother questioning where he got one from. Riddler held her close for another moment as Joker walked away and she looked around the room to see the guards stationed at the entrances.

He moved his head so his mouth was against her ear. "I can arrange for us to have a private meeting the next time you visit dear. I will admit I have missed the feeling of you around me. Perhaps we could make it a conjugal visit?"

Audrina turned to face him, he stepped back when he noticed her frown. She almost hissed out her words in an effort to keep them from being overheard. "Edward, I thought I was more than that to you?" He placed his hands on her arms as tears started to form in her eyes and she struggled to keep them back, "I thought _you_ understood. It's been a long time since we talked about this, but I can't be just a sex object again."

He pulled her close and placing his mouth near her ear to ensure no one else could hear him, "I will admit to a momentary lapse in judgment and memory. I just-" He paused and gave a huff that made her give a small giggle, "it's been a while and we had _finally_ made that step forward and now I'm separated from you? I was over eager. Tell me my dear Audrina, What I want is what I hate, why you give is why I wait. Those who quit are naught but fools, those who try are bound to lose. To own me you must set me free, and tell the truth yet lie to me?"

She looked up at him her voice soft and breaths shallow, "I do love you Edward, till the end of my days I will love you. My genius, my Riddler."

"My dear, I was talking about my emotions." He gave her a kiss on the top of the head. "I know you may not want to do anything sexual, but I will still arrange some privacy for us, if only to talk and hold each other dear. Now I must let you go so you can continue healing others."

She stepped back wiping a tear from her eye, "Yes love. I should continue on my mission today. I'll check on the guards and continue onto the rest of my list." She gave him a smile and touched his hand briefly before dropping it and heading over to the first guard she had passed on her way in. She just gave him a small smile before placing a hand on his shoulder. She could see him relax slightly before she moved onto the next, she made a full circle around the room before going back to Drew. "Shall we move on?"

Drew smiled at her, his whole face lighting up. "Wizard! I love this new assignment." He guided her through the rest of the asylum, watching her heal the patients and even exclaimed in shock as she healed the face of a woman who was in a straight jacket due to the constant clawing at her face, the scars were many and deep, covering most of her face and when Audrina was done the woman looked beautiful. He was shocked such a lovely looking woman had been hidden beneath all those self inflicted wounds.

When Audrina stepped back and continued down the corridor she turned towards Drew. "I just wish I could heal the mind. So many of these people here- it's horrible what their own brains have done to them." She turned and saw him frown for the first time. "I'm sorry. It is amazing being able to heal the body, I just wish I could do more."

They walked past a brightly lit room and Audrina glanced to see a woman curled up with her back to them. She turned to Drew and he just frowned and shook his head. They continued through the asylum until the end of the day. Audrina was lead to an empty room where Edward was standing, still in his bright orange jumpsuit. "I knew I could get us together today." Audrina sighed and gave a smile to him. He walked towards her and placed his arms around her. "Riddle me this my dear. What goes through the door without pinching itself? What sits on the stove without burning itself? What sits on the table and is not ashamed?"

She gave a giggle and placed her head against his chest. "Would that be the sun? Or sunlight?" She could feel him humm in a positive response. She looked up at him with a small frown. "That reminds me dear, one of the inmates- I didn't get a good look at her and wasn't allowed to see her- but she was in this room where it was brightly lit and she was just curled up in the corner." Her head tilted to the side as she watched his eyes flick to the side. "What do you know dear?"

He gave a huff and pulled her closer. "She's a metahuman Audrina. She teleports using shadows and they kept her here because Blackgate won't house meta humans and Belle Reeve doesn't have the set up for her. At Arkham they could do it quickly and by the time Belle Reve gets done with that renovation she should be free. She's in here for murder but while it was ruled self defence it was still very excessive so she was sentenced." He gave a frown that she couldn't see. "No one knows her name." He paused and took a deep breath, knowing this part would hurt Audrina to hear. "The people she murdered- they cut out her tongue. She couldn't defend herself, her only defense was how she looked when she walked into the police station carrying two of the bodies and wrote down the address of where she was held."

He could feel her crying into his chest. " _They don't want me to heal her_!" He just rubbed her back and made soothing noises.

"She's got only a month left according to the Arkham gossip and I'll make sure she's released on a day your here." Audrina pulled away from Edward and looked up at him.

"Wouldn't that mean you have to stay in for at least another month hun?" He gave a nod and stepped back, running his hands up her arms.

"I'll spend the time reconnecting with a few contacts and making a truly spectacular plan." He gave a wide grin at her. "The remaining inmates will be talking about for a very long time." She could see him frown and purse his lips. "That is if I can keep those quacks passing off as doctors from drugging me. Pft, OCD." She looked up at him with a soft smile and pulled him towards her for a kiss. "I should let you go dear. I'll miss you but I do still have that picture to keep me company." He smirked as she started blushing. She started to walk out the door and turned towards him one last time. "I'll look forward to seeing you the other two times this week too my dear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's so short. It's been hard to write on this lately.


	18. Another day on the sidelines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward realizes there's a bigger picture he missed and is trying to solve the puzzle before it's too late.

Edward kept his head down for the next two days, waiting for Audrina to come by again. He was mildly surprised to see Poison Ivy carried into her cell by Batman. He'd have to ask Audrina what happened if Ivy didn't wake before then. Joker's cackling was aggravating him and he just knew he'd get into an argument with that clown again. He didn't enjoy going up against Joker alone though, he knew whatever had caused the madman to become what he was granted him superior strength and Edward was just a human. He needed backup if he were to go toe to toe with Joker. Poison Ivy was usually good at shoving Joker off to the side, she could put fear into any man.

He watched over the woman Audrina called a friend for the first day, noting how she was completely out the whole day. He tried to keep himself from worrying, Audrina would arrive after work today and heal Poison Ivy if she hadn't awoken then.

Audrina made it to Arkham after work, passing the security checks and assigned to Drew again, they did the usual rounds, checking on the staff members first, along with any family they brought along once word had gotten out, before going to visit the rogues. "We're making a small detour that I'm not sure is safe, but it is necessary." She looked at him puzzled before following him to a locked room. Inside were two rows of clear cells, she could see they were slightly decorated and assumed they were permanent cells. Drew led her to one that had several plants in it and UV lighting instead of the usual fluorescent bulbs every other cell had. He paused and took a deep breath for courage before unlocking the cell and stepping in, Audrina followed quickly behind him.

" **Pam!** Oh dear." She rushed over to where Poison Ivy was lying on the bed still and a much lighter green than normal. She placed her hands on one arm and knelt by her side her hands and Pam already glowing purple. Drew stood nervously by the entrance of the cell, looking between Poison Ivy and the hallway. "Oh dear, Batman did this to you didn't he?" Drew jumped and reached for his gun when Pam gave a gasp and sat up. "Calm down, you're in Arkham. I just healed you. Whatever happened to you to put you in such a state?"

Poison Ivy brought a hand up to her head then reached out to brush her fingers against one of her plants before giving a sigh. "He outwitted me. I was working on a new pheromone that would cause a person to be in a near death state. I wanted to keep him prisoner, to get him to understand we need to save the plants." She gave a sigh and curled up, wrapping her arms around her legs. "He broke the vial in my hand and I don't remember anything else."

Audrina reached up and brushed her fingers through Ivy's hair, "Batman carried you back here. You've been unconscious for a day and a half." She smiled as Poison Ivy leaned her head into Audrina's touches. "I think everyone was worried about you." She stood up and dusted off her dress before looking back at Drew. "I do need to get back to everyone else."

He coughed into his hand and looked at Poison Ivy before looking back into the hallway. "It is rec room time for the rogues Ma'am. Would you like to join them or stay and rest before dinner time?" She looked at him confused, the other guards were never polite to her but she assumed this must be a new guard considering he was with Audrina. She gave a small frown thinking they put someone with so little experience in charge of the safety of her friend. She stood up and looking down at Audrina, so bright and smiling at her, before nodding and following the guard out the door. "No funny business please. I really don't want to be killed or fired because you decided now was a great time for a break out."

Ivy gave a husky laugh. "Well not right now, that would put Audrina in danger. I keep my friends safe." She placed one green hand on Audrina's arm, rubbing the green material between her fingers. " _Almost_ matches." She stated with a small quirk of her lips. Drew unlocked the door and both Ivy and Audrina walked in, Ivy sauntering over to one of the armchairs and Audrina heading over to where Edward was playing chess with Jervis. She placed her hands on either shoulder, leaning forward to watch the game as she healed them.

She gave a small frown as she noticed the glow of their powers cover both of them. Edward looked up at her with a soft smile as he placed down his bishop and turned back to Jervis. " _Checkmate_." Jervis looked over the board and gave a sigh before getting up to sit in front of the tv with the other smaller man.

"Do you know who that man is? I don't think I've ever seen him before." Audrina asked as Edward stood up and brushed a hand against her face.

He glanced over at the meek bald man. "That's Scarface. Stay away from him when he's out of Arkham." She looked up at him and gave a small smile.

"Will do love." She placed her head on his chest. "Who hurt you?"

"It doesn't matter. I got carried away and soon it won't be an issue at all." He leaned down and placed his lips near her ear, making her shudder as his breath brushed against her ear. "When I make my next escape he'll be **dead**. I'm going to _make sure of it_." She sighed and shook her head.

"Alright hun. Just so you know, Halloween is coming up soon and I'm going to make sure Amber stays inside that day. No Halloween parties for her. I don't want her to be caught up in whatever Scarecrow is planning this year. She may be-" Audrina gave a sigh and small grimace, " _darker_ than I thought, but I don't want her exposed to his fear toxin or in trouble with him. She already had a near brush with campus security when she borrowed his fear gas skull." He leaned back and raised an eyebrow at her. "The seniors decided to play a prank on some of the cheerleaders and Amber overheard them being rude to several girls who didn't fit the 'Stepford Wives' look they all had. So when she heard about the yearly prank she decided to hide behind one of the counters with a gas mask and when they entered the room she gassed them. Luckily she had the gas mask on and they didn't see her face so she managed to escape. She also made one of the gymnastics teams. I wasn't sure which exactly." She placed her head against his chest, sighing as she noticed the glow was gone.

"While the update on Amber is nice, that tells me nothing of you dear." He placed his hands on her arms and stepped back, looking her over. She seemed thinner, or the dress was wearing out and hanging loosely. He couldn't quite tell, but he could see the pinched, stressed look she had. Something was bothering her and she was trying to hide it.

"My dear Audrina, what has you so upset?" She bit her lip, her teeth dragging across and tearing away the mauve covering them. His eyes narrowed as he realized she'd been chewing on her lips often. She was stressed, not scared for herself, but scared about something.

" _I know where Jayla is Edward_." Her words came out in a rush, he had to pause before giving her a puzzled smile.

"That should be a good thing, right?" Unless Jayla was that metahuman, Audrina would worry herself sick that she couldn't help the woman who had grown up with her for so long. He remembered her mentioning the friend from Georgia. He remembered Audrina telling him how they shuffled from home to home until Jayla ran away, but she wasn't worried because of the postcards. His eyes widened as he realized the implications if Jayla was that tortured metahuman.

"Jayla is the one in the lighted cell!" He wasn't sure why Audrina needed to whisper it, but he could see the fear. "I checked through records and different newspapers and only one had a picture of her. I tried appealing to security to let me heal her so I can be sure, but they won't believe it is her just because I haven't seen her in so long!" Her small hands gripped his arms, bruising and healing him at the same time, "I **know** it's her. I will **never** forget her eyes. One darker than mine and one a light as honey. She used to joke that she was the Cheshire Cat. When she would slide into the shadows because the bright eye always stayed visible a moment longer than the dark eye."

She looked ready to cry thinking about her childhood friend, for once he was speechless. How do you comfort someone who only thinks of the pain her friend has gone through and has yet to see the bigger picture? "She'll be out soon and seeing as she's never made any trouble for a single soul here I think they won't have an issue releasing her to you. In fact I'm sure if you get Mr. Wayne on your side he might even insist on it just so you can heal her. The woman still needs to tell her side of the story. All anyone knows is the story her scars and missing tongue show." He winced when Audrina covered her mouth with her hands, wishing he could take back those words.

"What story do they say?"

"That will be for another time dear. I've kept you long enough as it is. You still need to attend to everyone else in the room and continue your rounds." She frowned up at him. "We won't be meeting today." He gave her a quick kiss before she walked away. Edward watched as she walked over to all the rogues, asking if any of them needing healing, just touching the shoulders of those she did know. He watched her walk back over to the guard and they left the room. Poison Ivy walked over to him and crossed her arms before looking up at him and tapping her foot.

"Talk. Why is she so upset? I was watching so don't tell me she wasn't because I don't think Audrina would ever in her right mind grip onto you so hard you required healing." He motioned towards the chess board and they both sat down. "I'll admit I haven't seen Audrina in about a week, but _something_ rattled her."

"Ivy, I believe you heard about the metahuman who turned herself in for murdering her captors?" Edward asked quietly as he moved a pawn forward.

She responded in a mirror move. "Of course the poor dear. I feel no pity for the state she left them in."

"I'm also sure you've asked about Audrina's accent?"

"I never thought to."

"Anything about her life before the Snow's?" He saw her frown and start to grow annoyed.

"What are you getting at Nygma-"

"Answers will come in due time. It appears you are not as well informed on Audrina's childhood as I had thought."

Ivy gave a huff and brushed some of her hair back. "No, most of the time she acts as if her life began when she was adopted. She couldn't even remember her own powers and she's born with them."

"She didn't remember because she repressed the memory of them when she was shunned for the power and put on medication. Now, I ask these questions so I know what to tell you and what is already known." He moved a knight and waited for her move before continuing. "Audrina was born Maria Alvarez. She became Amelia Snow at age 12." Ivy nodded, "Did you ever wonder how a native Mexican ended up with an accent from Georgia?" He gave a low chuckle and shook his head. "No, few do. She spent from what she could first remember to age 10 with Jayla Johnson by her side. The _metahuman foster children_ , so of course they were always housed together. Audrina never worried about Jayla because she received postcards from her. Those postcards continued when she was adopted and stopped when she changed her name and moved to Gotham. Ivy, I believe you've seen our resident metahuman. Correct?"

"Those scars are old. The ones around her neck especially so." Her eyes widened as she realized what he already figured out. "They sent Audrina those cards! They've been using Audrina to keep Jayla in line! Or- no. They can't be after Audrina?"

"I know nothing until I can speak with Jayla. I will be postponing my breakout until after Jayla leaves. We can't have her left in such a state longer because **I** was impatient." He sat back and rested his chin on his fingertips. "I can play the long con if need be." Ivy watched him give a small shudder. "I only hope Audrina can regrow Jayla's tongue. She grew Cash's hand back, so a tongue can't be much harder?" He seemed to be speaking to himself now. "Though I doubt I can stay here long after Jayla has left. I just might murder a certain clown." As one they both turned and looked at Joker, sitting in front of the tv with the remote and cackling. It seemed to be his default lately, almost over the top it seemed.

"As always, I'm in for that." She gave a sigh, "But it's Harley's choice that we shouldn't take away from her." They both sighed and continued the game of chess until Edward won at which point Ivy stood up and started to walk away from him before placing a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever help Audrina needs, Harley is still on the outside. Selina's been lying low lately and I know the Wonderbats try to be friendly to her. I know she's been spending some time with two of them since Joker killed the Red Robin."

Edward's head snapped up. "How did I miss that? _When_ did I miss that?" He and Ivy both turned towards Joker sitting on the couch. " **Basil**! Is that you?"

The 'Joker' turned and gave a hearty chuckle. "Good impression though, right?" Several guards ran up to take him to a different room. "It was fun while it lasted. Man this guy gets a lot of freedom."

Edward stood up, " _Wait_ -" He held his hands out and raised them when a couple guards turned their guns towards him. "Basil, why are you masquerading as Joker?"

"He needed the scent off his trail for something big. Did not know if was killing off one of the Bat-brats. Pity, they're just kids." He shook his head and frowned.

Edward stepped back and shook his head in disgust. "That _clown_ is **dead**." He turned and saw the tight fists Ivy was forming. "Children should be protected."

"It's past Ivy. We should all be ready for what happens next. Batman is protective of his Robins, even though one has become Nightwing and left the nest so to speak." Ivy gave him a nod and walked away after watching Basil escorted to his special cell. He seemed to proud of his deception to bother trying to escape.

Edward sat back down, looking over the chessboard. Audrina's childhood friend held in captivity for years, possibly The Lonely Shadow. He remembered hearing about the villain. She would rob places that were supposed to be impenetrable, she even killed a few people. He thought back to one time he stumbled upon her. She wore a collar around her neck and would constantly move from shadow to shadow, bringing people inside and they fought against Batman and Robin. He hid in a shadow of his own and nearly jumped out of his skin when she materialized next to him. He would never forget those eyes. One black and one golden, filled with so much pain and desperation. He knew something was wrong but also knew he was outnumbered so he stuck to his hiding place while she walked in the middle of the chaos.

She stopped the fighting with one word, screaming for help while diving towards Batman. Riddler remembered the way her collar arched to life and left her screaming and unable to do anything drop to the ground and struggle to breathe. He remembered Batman reaching out for her when one of the men restarted the fight and their moving shadow was commanded to pull them out of there. That was a few years before Audrina came to Gotham, it also must have been after that her tongue was cut out.

He moved a chess piece, Joker planted Basil to lower everyone's defenses. Another piece moved, Red Robin was killed. He moved another piece, Ivy was trying to create a serum to put one in a death like state. He kept clicking pieces on the board and thinking of the puzzle in front of him. Were there more people after Jayla than those she had killed? Were they also after Audrina and her healing powers or did they just use the threat of a dear friend to keep Jayla in line? How long was the woman in captivity for? How did she even manage to turn against her captors? There were too many variables, too much going on at once. His head snapped up when the radios crackled to life and the guards started ushering them to their cells. 

* * *

  
Audrina got home and closed the door behind her, sliding down and letting the tears out finally. Her friend was imprisoned, tortured, and still in need of healing and she was powerless to help her. She stood up on shaky legs and walked over to her bedroom, tossing herself onto the bed to just lie there in silence. "What can I even do?" She pulled one of the pillows close to her, hoping it still held some of Edward's scent but it did not. She sighed to herself and pulled herself up when her phone started ringing. "Hello?"

Amber walked in Audrina's room to check in on her. "You alright?"

Audrina put a hand up and listened to the voice on the phone. "Yes, I I can be there right away. I understand time is important." She stood up and looked down realizing her heels were still on before grabbing her purse and rushing out the door.

"Wait! What happened?" Amber ran after her, making sure to lock the door before following the flash of purple hair down the hallway.

"No time! I'm needed at the Batcave." Amber followed behind her, sliding into the car and buckling in just as Audrina speed out of the parking garage.

"Okay, we're driving and you are freaking me out with your speeding." Amber cling to the grab handle with both hands while looking at Audrina. She'd rarely seen her sister look so afraid.

"Nightwing managed to find Barbara Gordon. There's something big happening right now and my powers are needed. They can't stop the bleeding." Audrina pulled a corner quickly and took a deep breath as they drove through a waterfall. Amber was glad for her holding onto the handle as Audrina slammed on the breaks and rushed out of the car. "I'm here!' She yelled as she ran through the cave and saw the young woman laid out on a table with Nightwing and Alfred on either side.

Amber jogged up behind her sister, looking at the man just older than her covered in blood. He collapsed in a chair and placed his head in his hands. She walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder as she watched Audrina try to heal the young woman. "Something's wrong isn't it?" She asked as she saw Audrina start to cry and weaken.

"I don't understand!" Audrina was crying as her vision started to blur. "The bleeding's stopped, the bullet was removed, what's **_wrong_ ** still?" Alfred walked up behind her and held her shoulders as she started to sag. She kept her hands on Barbara even as she slipped to the ground.

"Sis!" Amber rushed over and pulled Audrina away from Alfred. "What just happened? I've never seen her pass out from healing someone before!"

"Have you ever seen her try to heal a severed spinal cord before?" Alfred stood back up and walked back over to Barbara. "She may eventually recover, but _Miss Gordon_ -" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. "She will have a long road before her. Your sister kept her alive, and we are all grateful for that." Amber looked up at the man, they'd never met before. She wasn't a part of this section in her sister's life, but the young woman must be someone important. She looked at the three people in the room. Nightwing who hadn't moved from his position, the butler who covered up the half naked young woman, and her sister who now had hands covered in blood and was completely passed out.

"She grew bone back together, healed missing chunks out of people, but mostly I see her heal broken bones, cuts through muscle, and she has regrown a missing limb." She looked down and brushed a purple curl out of Audrina's face. "Never a spinal cord though." Amber's head snapped up to lock eyes with Alfred. "She also just got back home from healing the inmates and guards at Arkham." 


	19. The aftermath

Audrina walked into the hospital room and stood next to Commissioner Gordon, she placed a hand on his shoulder and they both ignored the purple glow as they watched over his daughter. "Commissioner, I'm sorry I couldn't-"

"It's alright. I was told you tried to help her. She could have died, but now she's alive." He pulled the heavy blanket closer over his shoulders, glad for the spare clothes in his locker, but unable to shake the cold.

"I will keep trying." She looked away from him towards Barbara, Batgirl, the young woman who did so much to help the city only to be shot in her own home.

"Miss, you don't have to-" He started to stand up when Audrina placed her hands on one of Barbara's arms. He stood there watching his daughter start to glow and some of the tension come out of her face. "Oh please." He glanced over to Audrina and saw her start to pale and sway. "Miss!" He grabbed her and pulled her off of his daughter. Audrina grimaced in pain and clutched her stomach.

"So much pain." She managed to gasp out.

"I need help here!" He pulled her to his chair and sat her down where she sat doubled over in pain. "Stay there, I'll get you some help." All that could be heard was the clattering of his shoes down the hallway and faint voices. "She's over here! That metahuman who heals people, she tried healing Babs but something's wrong."

Audrina felt herself being lifted and placed into a wheelchair. "I have to help Miss Gordon. Have to-" Her whole world went blank until she woke up in a hospital bed with Doctor Crane standing at the foot of her bed wearing a beard and brown contacts.

"Miss Hernandez, you appear to have had some complications." He placed her chart back down and walked over to the head of her hospital bed. "Were you aware of your pregnancy?" She could feel his hand in a fist next to her head, leaning his weight on it as he looked into her glazed over eyes. "Did you know you were pregnant at our last appointment? When I dosed you with my fear toxin?" He glanced towards the closed door and back to her confused expression. "Dammit woman answer me! Did you know?"

"I'm pregnant?" Her head tilted and she sounded confused as she tried to sit up. "I'm going to have a baby with Edward?" Her face lit up with joy and she covered her mouth with her hands as she smiled. "Oh thank you for telling me Dr. Crane!" She looked up at his sad expression and the smile melted off her face, "What's wrong? Did something happen to Edward? Or Miss Gordon take a turn for the worse?"

He gave a sigh and sat down in a chair next to her. "You were pregnant Audrina." He looked away from her once she started to cry. "They suspect it was a mix of your powers straining you, stress, and they wrote down 'history of miscarriage' on your chart as well." He took a deep breath and exhaled, wishing he didn't have to know so much. "I suspect the fear toxin also played a part of it. The amounts of physical stress the human body goes through during fear? The number of people I've scared to death? It could have been too much for the fetus, and I'm-" He groaned and rubbed his head, regret toning his words. "I'm sorry you lost something so important."

"It's not your fault Dr. Crane. I didn't know I was pregnant, and I only managed to hold one to 20 weeks." She gave a short mournful wail before covering her mouth with her hands and waiting for a moment. "Edward and I, it was only one time. The same night he was sent to Arkham and I didn't think anything of it with my birth control. This one, it didn't even last as long as my first child." She placed her head on her knees. "Don't tell Edward. I don't even know if he'd want to be a father and I wouldn't want the hope ripped out of him if he did." Jonathan nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder before standing back up. "Wait." He stopped and turned back towards her. "Your hand glowed. You're hurt, come back here."

"I don't think it's appropriate for you to heal me from your hospital bed Miss Hernandez."

"I've already got an IV drip in me, I've already lost something. Don't force me to lose my usefulness. Let me heal you Dr. Crane." He sighed and walked back over to her, placing his hand in her and standing up straighter as the glow continued. When it stopped he had a hint of a smile on his face.

"Thank you dear."

"What happened Dr. Crane?"

"You really must call me Jonathan outside of my office. I broke a few ribs and dislocated a shoulder getting away from Batman several days ago." He glanced towards the door again, eyes narrowing. "I've only got a few more minutes to leave before the nurse returns from his rounds." He looked back towards her, she frowned at the sadness in his expression. "I didn't contact you that night because it was evident you were under some stress and I thought you were getting ill. Now, I must go, but I'll visit you again when your sister lets me know you've been released from the hospital." He turned and silently opened her door before closing it just as silently and leaving Audrina alone in the dark room.

She wiped the tears from her face and laid back down in the bed, letting exhaustion take over her. Hours later she woke up to Bruce Wayne sitting by her side. "What-" She rubbed her face, wondering if last night was a nightmare. "Why am I in the hospital Mr. Wayne?"

He looked up at her and she felt so guilty for not being able to heal Batgirl further, for not being there in someway to help Robin. She wished in that moment she could revive the dead if only to erase the look of pain he always seemed to carry. They spun Jason's death as a hit and run to try an explain some of the damage. Audrina was glad they had done that so Bruce could show some of his grief over the death of his second son. "Audrina, what's the last thing you remember?"

"I had a weird nightmare where Dr. Crane visited me and told me I lost a baby I didn't even know I was carrying, but before that- I was here at the hospital. I was healing Commissioner Gordon and then his daughter. I was healing her and that's the last thing I remember." She looked back up to Bruce's pale face and her breath hitched. "That was just a nightmare though, right? I mean, I must have just passed out from the stress."

"Audrina, I think I should have the doctor come in and speak with you." He leaned forward and clicked the call button to bring a nurse or doctor over.

"Mr. Wayne, what won't you say? Why am I here?" He kept his eyes on his hands and ignored her pleas until the door opened and he stood up.

The doctor walked in, a tall woman with a tight gray bun who looked around the room and gave a small sigh before taking the chair Bruce had just vacated. "Miss Hernandez, do you know why you are here?"

"No! I've been trying to ask Mr. Wayne but he won't tell me anything. Is it because I passed out while trying to heal Miss Gordon?" She looked between the two and Bruce still refused to meet her gaze.

"Miss Hernandez I have a few questions I need to ask you. Mr. Wayne, please leave the room for a little bit." The doctor watched him leave the room and turned back towards Audrina when the door clicked shut. "Now, when was the last time you had sexual intercourse?"

Audrina could feel her face turning red as she clutched the sheets a bit closer to her. "Just over a month ago."

"Alright, that fits with what we know from the tests."

"What tests?"

"You passed out, then you started bleeding from your nose and vagina. A quick pregnancy test was done and your hormone levels showed that you indeed were pregnant, but there's no baby. You had an early miscarriage, it would have been brushed off as a strong period with extra clots if you hadn't been here."

Audrina just looked down at her hands and ignored the droplets on them. "I was going to have a baby." She was crying, "If it was this way from the start, why bother telling me at all? Why torture me with this knowledge?"

"This way you can mourn and move on." The doctor reached out and patted her knee before standing up. "Now, your body is passing it just fine, but you did still pass out. You're low on electrolytes and sodium so we're keeping you another day."

"What do you mean, another?" She tilted her head in confusion and ignored how her hair fell over her shoulder.

"Audrina, you've been unconscious for two days." The doctor turned and left, the click of the door sounding so loud to Audrina. She reached over to the small table and pulled her purse towards her, grabbing the phone. She had several missed calls, she clicked Harley's number to call back.

"Hey Harley. Yes I know I've been missing, I'm in the hospital. No don't worry I... I'll be fine. I just have a stay a little while longer." Audrina covered her eyes with her hand, barely registering the sound of her door opening again. "Could you and Amber come over? I'll be fine but right now-" She started to sob and covered her mouth with her hand, just nodding and making a whimper of agreement before the call ended. Someone placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up, her vision still blurry and them standing just out of sight. "Hello?"

The person reached over and gave her glasses to her. "Thank you." She looked up and saw it was Bruce Wayne again. "She wanted to talk more about my-" Audrina gulped and shook her head. "About what happened. It doesn't feel real. I feel empty but I didn't even know I carried a life inside me."

"I'm sorry. I don't know how to comfort you. Just know work will be taken care of and I contacted Arkham to let them know you can't visit them anymore. It's too much strain on your body to do so much healing."

"I know it is. I could feel it after the first day. I could even feel it the day I helped the guards and all the inmates just so I could see Edward. I can't just stop, I need to go back."

"Then why did you do it?" He ignored her comment, realizing this woman would end up killing herself if it meant saving someone else.

"To see Edward, and to try and get Arkham to let me heal Jayla."

Bruce looked confused. "Who is Jayla?"

Audrina curled up where she sat and rested her head on her knees for a moment. "Jayla is the first family I ever knew. We grew up in the system together until she ran away. She's six years older than I am with black skin and heterochromia. One eyes is darker than mine and the other is almost golden. She's a metahuman just like me. She's in Arkham for killing those who held her captive for who knows how many years."

"Audrina, I want you to answer this honestly. I know who your friends are and you know the other side of my life. Does Jayla have the ability to slide in and out of shadows? With people?" Audrina nodded and Bruce sat back with a frown. "I've met her. It was only a few times but I remember the last time I actively interacted with her. She's a criminal but that incident made me believe she wasn't one of her own free will. Something changed and she tried to escape. She ran and screamed for help." He frowned and looked down at his hands, thinking of what he could have done to save the woman.

"When was that Mr. Wayne?"

"About four years ago. It was the year before you got here." He paused, thinking as Audrina just stared into space. "I think it was not long after you changed your name. You had this name for a year before moving here, right? You no longer existed as Amelia Snow. Her captors probably didn't know what happened to you, so she didn't know and tried to break free. You've been in the papers recently and on the news. Most of the time you're standing right by me or seen interacting with me by the press. She could have found out you moved here and that's what moved her to escape."

"How did she manage to escape though?"

"I'm afraid we'd have to ask her, but with her abilities she's kept in near isolation in that lit room."

"No shadows for her to move through." Audrina turned towards the phone in her hand. "I want you to leave Mr. Wayne." He stood up and she reached her hand out towards him. "I don't mean to be rude, but I just- I need time to myself right now. I need to decide if I should even tell Edward, this was never something we discussed." He gave her a solemn nod and left the room. She turned to the window and laid there for what felt like hours.

\--

Edward paced back and forth in the Arkham rec room, glancing at the door and looking at the guards. "Where is she?" He kept muttering to himself. He threw himself down on one of the couches and glanced over at Poison Ivy. "You were out last, did Audrina give any hint of something going on?"

She rolled her eyes and sighed at him, "I told you Ed, I didn't see her for a week before I woke up in this hellhole. I don't know what's going on with her." She turned and looked over at the guards. "It is odd that she didn't show up yesterday though. She stood up and walked over to a frowning and glaring Joker. "Okay, clown. We know you did something big to have all the guards freak out hours before you were brought in by Batman. What. Did. You. Do?" Edward walked up next to her and frowned, studying the irritating clown.

Joker gave a hoarse cough and drank some water out of the plastic bottle before speaking in a raspy voice. Edward's eyes narrowed as he took in the heavy bruising around Joker's throat. Something must have set off Batman. "Well if you must know-" He coughed some more and took another sip. "I shot the Commissioner's daughter in the spine before taking him on a little ride through my amusement park." He took another sip of water, grinning as he spoke. "I suspect your little healer is too busy trying to keep that girl alive and healing Commissioner Gordon." He frowned and looked to the side. "I had hoped he'd lose his mind but he didn't and it wasn't funny." He rubbed his throat while wincing and drank some more water before brushing them off with a wave of his hand.

Poison Ivy sat down on the couch with Edward, "Does she usually get ill from healing people?"

"No, a bit weaker but I've never known her to just drop something like this." Edward frowned and crossed one leg over the other while rubbing his chin. "She has been healing a lot of people recently and been under stress." He gave a sigh and rested his head back against the couch. "I just need to wait I suppose. Perhaps make some plans while waiting?"

Ivy gave a snort and glanced at one of the guards out of the corner of her eye. "Since when did you care about waiting? The closest thing you do to waiting is plan." She frowned and looked around at the various rogues in the rec room with them. "Why do you suppose they even let Joker out? He should be in his solitary confinement."

"The man can barely speak and I think all of us are waiting to see Audrina arrive. Letting her heal him or not is up to Arkham, I can assure you though, he'll return to his lock up soon. Right now all he's doing is pouting like a petulant child."

It was another two days before Audrina walked into the Arkham rec room. Edward lept out of his seat and rushed over to her. He ignored the warning click of the guards guns and Drew's arm motioning for them to stand down. Audrina walked up the rest of the way and just leaned forward, placing her head against his chest. He gave a sigh and pulled her into a hug, taking account of her appearance without being conspicuous about it. She felt her back and ribs and he ran his hands along her sides, some of her softness had vanished. He pulled her back and ran his thumb over her cheek, taking in the slightly red eyes, the worn look on her face and how ashen she appeared. "My dear Audrina, what happened to you?"

"I was in the hospital dear. I can't do this anymore. Today will be my final day healing everyone and then I'm on bedrest for a while. I had to beg just to come in one last time." She looked away from his eyes to his chest, unsure of what to do or say. "I'll be back the day Jayla is set free, but aside from that, I can't come back anymore love." He pulled her in for another hug, clutching her tightly and wanting to just leave right now, to be there for her and find out what really happened.

"I understand. It'll be just over two weeks and I'll hold you in my arms again." He placed a kiss on her forehead and tilted her chin up to see her face. "Why were you in the hospital? Who hurt you?" He sounded angry and Audrina fought to shrink away. She bit her lip and looked away from. "Audrina. What caused you to go to the hospital?"

She took a deep breath, telling herself she'd tell him the whole truth after he was free. "I over exerted myself with my healing. I tried to heal Miss Gordon, then I healed the Commissioner. That was after a day here of healing everyone who was hurt or sick. I collapsed and started bleeding. They kept me for an extra day after I finally woke up. I just got out yesterday." They reluctantly let go of eachother and she made her usual rounds before she stopped in front of Joker.

He looked up at her, his expression bored while she clenched her jaw and bit her lip. "If it weren't for the fact that I vowed to heal anyone in need I would leave you as you are." Her body was shaking with suppressed anger. The other inmates around them watched in curiosity, they'd never seen Audrina angry in anyway. "You nearly killed a young woman. She's crippled beyond my healing abilities. You tortured her father mentally and physically and for what? For a joke! To try and break his mind and make him like you! You are sick. After this day I will never help you again." She placed her hand on his face and her hand started to glow, the moment it started to fade she snatched her hand away as if burned and stormed out of the room, her escort rushing to catch up with her.

She finished her rounds in a fog and found herself at the end standing in front of Jayla's lit cell. This time Jayla wasn't faced away and looking at the wall. She spotted Audrina and tried to stand but was too weak to. "I'm sorry they won't let me heal you Jayla. I promise to be here when you're released. I will help you." She pressed her hands and forehead against the cell wall trying to will her powers through the thick glass. A very faint mist reached out towards Jayla and she could stand up and walk towards Audrina. She placed herself in the same position, mirroring the woman who had been her little sister for almost a decade. Jayla felt her strength returning, making up for years of malnourishment and being confined in a cage. Audrina started to bleed from her nose before she could heal anything else and the guard, Drew pulled her away and started to guide her away.

Jayla looked towards the back of the two walking away. She signed towards them, wanting to communicate even if they couldn't see. 'Thank you'.

Audrina managed to make it home, she pulled her heels off and walked over to the couch, lying down on it and ignoring the blood on her face. She just felt so drained physically and mentally that she could do nothing more. Amber found her like that a few hours later when she returned home with Harley. The two women pulled her up to a sitting position and Amber started to clean Audrina's face while Harley made the tea Audrina was fond of. "Honey did you tell Eddie about what happened?" Harley sat down across from Audrina and picked up a cold hand. Audrina just shook her head. "I'm guessing you just want to forget about the whole thing don't you?" At her silence Harley pressed, knowing it wasn't healthy to bottle everything up. "It will be okay. You are healing and maybe in the future you can see about having a child with Eddie." She placed both hands around Audrina's and started to rub it to regain some of her warmth. "I'm sure the two of you would make excellent parents!" Audrina finally looked up and her dark eyes met Harley's hopeful blue eyes.

"I had to heal the man who caused all this pain today. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to leave him as he currently is. I wanted him to suffer." Her voice sounded so painful when she finally spoke. Amber grabbed the tea that was now ready and sat down next to her sister, she gently took her hands away from Harley and placed them around the mug. Audrina looked down at the tea, almost confused.

"I know you're going through a lot right now Audrina, but you need to remember that you are still alive. You have a support group, people who care about you and it is completely up to you to decide who to share your pain with."

"I just want to move on." Amber hugged Audrina tightly and rubbed her back.

Audrina let the next two weeks pass by her in a blur. She worked, went home, and listened as her sister tried to pull her into conversation. "We're going to need a bigger place. I want Jayla to at least stay with us for a while. Until she can decide what she wants to do or where she'll go."

"Okay sis! We can start looking for a place."


	20. Unbroken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayla is free at last, Audrina's still struggling with her own mental challenges

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I am so sorry this took so long to get done. I got new sleep and anxiety meds and they ran away with my muse.

Audrina walked into Arkham for what she hoped would be the last time in her life, she was picking up Jayla and she knew either tonight or within the next few nights Edward would escape and she'd be back in his arms again. It felt so lonely without him, she couldn't even visit Nina or Diedre because they were still running their gun smuggling business in Star City. Every step felt like lead, this place was a horrible one of death and despair and she just wanted to run away from it. With every step her respect for her friends grew, that they could be here and not escape the very first chance was surprising.

She gave a weak smile to Drew as he checked in her purse and lead her over to a side room where Jayla was sitting in a chair. She wore the Arkham jumpsuit and seeing it on her friend, practically a sister made Audrina want to cry. She rushed over and hugged Jayla, sobbing as they both glowed purple. They didn't even notice the doctor watching over them taking notes and watching Audrina with calculating eyes. "I've missed you Maria." Jayla finally spoke and Audrina stepped back, still holding onto her hands and healing. "For a long time I thought I'd never see you in person again."

Jayla pushed Audrina away gently and stood in front of the doctor, she leaned in towards him, her mouth near his ear. "I'll remember you let me suffer. I know how you watch my sister and she will never become one of your experiments." She flicked her eyes towards him. "I'd focus more on your obsession with Batman than the healing metahuman, because if you even try to experiment on her I'll be there. I'll do whatever I have to." She gave a smirk and Dr. Strange could see there was not a single mark left on her neck from the shock collar. "If you think of turning your obsession towards her, I'd sleep with the lights on." With a soft smile she stepped back and held Audrina's hand. "Let's go home Maria, I'd like to take a walk in the moonlight later."

Audrina didn't hear the whispered words from Jayla, but she kept her smile all the same. "It's Audrina now. I haven't been Maria in over a decade." The two women walked outside of Arkham, the taller of the two raising her head towards the remaining sunlight. "Don't worry Jayla, we'll have a nice moonlight stroll later tonight. I'll even try to find some clothes that fit you." She guided Jayla to her car and the two of them sat down. Jayla leaned her head against the window and watched the city as Audrina drove to her apartment. "I'm in the middle of purchasing a bed and breakfast, so it shouldn't be very long that we're a little cramped."

Jayla turned and raised an eyebrow, "We? You have a roommate."

Audrina kept her eyes on the road and Jayla could see her hands tighten on the wheel. "You left, and I was all alone until I was 12. I saved a five year olds life and while the town felt I was cursed for my gift, the family adopted me. She declared me her 'forever sister'. My sister Amber is living with me while she attends college. She's not there very often because of school, sports, and spending time with friends, but she does sleep there and it's only a two bedroom."

Jayla shrugged and nodded to herself. "It's good you found a family. You need people Mar- Audrina." She paused and turned towards her sister in all but blood. "Did they give you that name?"

"No, I choose this name after I got a divorce and flew across the country to run away from my ex husband." Jayla could see her fingers tighten over the steering wheel. "He's dead though now, so no worries there."

"You don't have to tell me if it'll open up the wounds Audrina." Jayla looked up at the building before they pulled into the parking garage. "This is your place?" Audrina gave a nod and they walked up into her apartment.

"Go wash up and enjoy the hot bath, I'll try to see if I have anything that can fit you." Audrina looked over Jayla, "I think I've got a dress you can wear with a coat while we go shopping for some actual clothes to fit you." Jayla nodded and walked around the apartment a little bit.

"Wow, this is much nicer than anywhere we lived in!" She gave a self deprecating laugh, remembering the sheer number of times they would have to share a bed and live in a room that could fit in the kitchen she stood in. She turned towards Audrina and caught the flicker of worry in her sisters dark eyes. "So where is the bathroom? A real bath sounds fucking fantastic right now." Audrina's eyes seemed to light up with a smile and she lead the way through a huge bedroom. Jayla caught sight of some men's clothing sitting on a chair with a folded but rumpled blanket, all in the same shade of green before Audrina took her into the bathroom.

"Woah." She looked around her, there was a deep bathtub and next to it an equally large stand in shower, an actual closet stood opposite the tub and she turned to see a large mirror and smiled to herself seeing how neatly all the products were aligned; except for a shopping bag that held tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner, several containers of soap, and even her own scrub brush and hair brushes. She felt tears prickle up when she picked them up and saw the different scents on the bottles, they were either very fruity things she used to get because they were affordable or the really nice ones she used to stand in front of with Maria and just smell.

It was hours later they arrived back to the apartment, takeout and several bags of clothing in hand. Audrina refused to let her look at the prices, reminding her that she could afford it and it was nothing to worry over. They ate together in companionable silence, Amber joining them as she worked on some homework while eating. Audrina stood up and smiled down at Jayla. "I'm going to take a shower and head to bed. You are more than welcome to share my bed until everything is finalized and we can move to the bed and breakfast."

Jayla gave a weary smile and looked at her sister. "I'm not sure I'll sleep much tonight. I might just put on a coat and sit outside on the balcony for a while. Enjoy being in the dark, ya know?" Audrina's expression seemed a little pained and she quickly shoved it behind a smile.

"I know. I understand, the offer still stands though." They nodded to each other and Jayla gave a small wave as Audrina's door shut.

"Okay, semi-sis. Spill." Jayla turned and gave a puzzled stare at the blonde. "You're on edge. Is it from finally being free and unsure what to do? Or seeing Audrina with a nice big apartment, buying a large house and not even batting an eye at purchasing a new wardrobe for you?"

"Wait- how do you know how I could possibly feel?" Jayla could feel the hair on the back of her neck rising. She gritted her teeth and stared down the child before her.

"Chill, I'm just asking and making guesses. Sis always gushed over new things and it seemed like she never had much before my family adopted her. I know you protected her, and I assume you protected her from a lot more than she even knew. Right? I remember her telling me how she missed the game you two played of you sliding in bed with her and both of you vanishing into the shadows until dawn. She thought it was just a way of being sisterly, holding them through the night. But you were keeping her away from whoever wanted to hurt you two at night, right?" Amber closed her book and walked over to Jayla, sitting next to her instead of across.

"You are right, I have no idea how you could feel. I have killed before, but it was covered up and I never faced any consequences for it. I didn't kill for the reasons you did. I could never be that selfless. I killed him because he shot my sister. She obviously lived, but he shot her. So after he was roughed up, I carved him up." She looked towards the window, a soft smile on her face. "We're two completely different people. I was the pampered lil girl who did get away with murder. You spent your whole life in need and without help, yet you kill to escape your captors and what did you do? You turn yourself into the system and hoped it would work." The two women stared at each other, one pale and full of youth. The other dark and tired. "I don't know how much it would help you, but there's a group of super powered people. They're the Justice League, they help everyone they can. I think they could help you, even if it's by letting you help others."

"They never helped me. Nobody helped me. I asked, I screamed for it and what happened? My tongue was cut out and I had to wait until there was a blackout and the back-up generator died." Jaya kept her words calm, the pain and anger shown only in her eyes by the tight grip on the couch. "I know my life will never be normal, because I'm a metahuman. You will never know what it's like to be rejected from birth, you'll never be rejected for being black, you've probably never even had to go several days without eating because there wasn't enough money for both food and the booze." Jayla stood up and turned towards Audrina's door, staring at it instead of Amber. "No little Barbie doll, you and I will never go through the same things."

"Jayla, I understand you're angry. You and I are and always will be two different people, shaped by our upbringings. Audrina, sis is something neither of us could ever achieve. She was protected for a long time, up until she married a monster she had someone looking out for her. Now that she can, she looks out for everyone in anyway she is able to. Mostly she heals, but occasionally she cooks and cooks and invites a bunch of the rogues over just for company." Amber gave a smile to herself, not even looking at Jayla anymore. "She's how I got to the University, she's how I met my boyfriend, hell she even pays for all my stuff because she doesn't want me to worry over money." Amber walked up to Jayla and guided her to the balcony. The two of them stood in the pale moonlight and looked up at the sky. "Now that she has you back, she wants to be the one helping you. Audrina's kind of important and because of that, she makes the big bucks. Also apparently some of the bad guys she helps out give her donations because she's too sweet for them not to." Jayla raised an eyebrow at Amber's giggle. "They feel like they're taking advantage of her and most criminals here in Gotham have morals."

"Yeah right. The ones holding me in captivity didn't have morals."

"I did say most." Jayla turned back to look at the street, a man in a green suit was walking along the street, whistling as he twirled his cane. Amber jumped back in surprise when Jayala let out a hiss and lept back as if burnt before rushing to the edge of the balcony. "Jayla calm down!" She fell into the railing, breathing heavily as she looked down at the street where Jayla was arguing with Riddler. "Shit. Sis's sis has a bridge to burn with her boyfriend. Fucking great." She took a few breaths and felt her ribs to make sure there was no bruising from the rail. "Hey! Bring it inside! No need to air out all the laundry." She felt her shoulders tense up as Jayla's head whipped over to her and the golden eye shoned in the moonlight. Suddenly she lunged forward and grabbed onto Riddler, in an instant they were both on the balcony. "Now, let's stay calm."

"It really is you." Edward gasped, looked down at the woman shoving him against the glass door. "I thought I hallucinated you, that trying to find someone my intellectual equal was placing a strain on my brain."

"That night, I begged for you and Batman to help me and neither of you did."

"You were the Vanishing Thief. How was I supposed to know it wasn't some ploy to get on Batbrain's soft side?"

Jayla let go and stepped back in confusion. "People would actually do that?"

Edward gave a laugh and waved his hand to the side. "All the time! He falls for Miss Harleen doing it the most, but he's been tricked time and time again."


	21. Shaking up

The three of them stepped inside the apartment, Amber looking around to make sure no one saw them."Okay, we're inside now. Keep your voices down and argue it out in here. Got it?" She turned back to her homework and flopped down on the couch.

"You thought I was one of them?" Jayla stated flatly as she cocked her head to the side, studying Edward.

"I didn't have any reason not to. Back when I was starting out most villains had a young innocent looking woman helping them. I even remember when Jonathan tried to recruit Becky Albright." He gave a small shudder. "That was a nightmare and a half. I have two of them myself, though they aren't exactly innocent looking. I thought you were the same." He paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "Forgive me. I did not realize you were a victim. I should have."

"That makes some more sense. I think." She put a hand to her head and gave a sigh. "Everything's just so confusing. Maria is no longer Maria, she has a family now. Villians having morals? I feel like my world is upside down. Like I'm having a hallucination or something."

He took one of her hands and guided her to the couch, helping her sit down. "That's why Audrina wanted to be there for you. We knew you'd have trouble adjusting. I suppose that it is true, your life has been turned all around. You're like Alice, lost and confused in a Wonderland completely different that what you knew."

She looked down at their hands, her tight curls covering her face. "Never did read that book. I didn't get to read while they had me and I never finished school." She took one hand back to wipe her tears. "I must seem so stupid next to all of you. All college educated and shit."

"Well, if it's any consolidation, everyone seems stupid next to me." He gave a laugh as he ducked to avoid the pen thrown in his direction. "Hey! Audrina tells me I'm the smartest man she knows. I'm a genius."

Amber rolled her eyes at him as she got up to retrieve the pen. "Don't listen to him Jayla, he's full of himself. I recall her also saying you preen like a peacock."

"All truths." She responded by sticking her tounge out at him and returning to her homework. "Now, Jayla. You and I are both very dear to Audrina, Maria as you remember her. So let us try and bridge this divide?"

"Ya wanna be friends?" She crossed her arms and leaned back away from him.

"Just friendly is a step. I'm sure Audrina will help you get a GED and see if she can find you a job somewhere. If not, I know a few who are always looking for some security. Having the Shadow Thief as a bodyguard? Well dear, to a lot of people you were what went bump in the night. You, Scarecrow, and Batman."

"Why would I wanna help fuckers like you?" She watched him warily as he put his hands up.

"I understand your hesitation. Life in Gotham is not always black and white. I was mearly giving options."

"I told her about the Justice League." Amber pipped up, smirking at Edward.

He gave her a frown and raised his nose at her. "Yes Amber, I suppose if she wants to side with a bunch of do good Meta-humans who act above the law then yes. The Justice League is an option."

Jayla leaned forward, eyes searching his face. "They're meta humans too? They're meta humans accepted by society?"

"Yes and no Jayla. They are widely accepted and a fair amount of them are meta humans. There's also a few aliens, some average humans, and some homomagi's. Several of them I cannot find any information on, not even a hint. So yes some of them are Meta-humans, and most of society does accept them."

"Most is better than none." She muttered to herself, looking towards Audrina's door. "Maria's accepted, right? She's got a fancy job and this fancy place. She doesn't even blend in with the purple hair."

"Right and wrong Jayla. Audrina's accepted because she is Bruce Wayne's CEO and he's publicly accepted her. She may stand out because of the hair color, but as a young woman most of them color their hair."

She gave a frown and stood up, walking back towards the sliding glass door. "There's so much about this life I don't know." Edward watched her intently as she stepped into a shadow and stepped out onto the balcony, walking forwards and leaning against the railing.

"Why did you tell her about the Justice League Amber?" He kept his eyes on Jayla, watching the woman bask in the moonlight.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because they see the world in black and white. Good and Bad. It's very likely they could believe Audrina is bad because she helps both sides."

Amber paused, her face white as two pairs of green eyes locked. "They wouldn't. She knows Batman. She's helped Batman. He's part of the Justice League, he'd be on her side."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't think I have a choice in that."

* * *

  
Jayla didn't know if she should frown or smile when she saw Audrina's eyes light up as she laid eyes on Edward the next morning. She had spent the night trading between talking with Amber, wasn't she a bubbly kid? And talking with Edward. She accepted that he didn't save her, it didn't change the fact she couldn't stand him. Jayla felt something twist and pull when her sister hugged that villian. She sacrificed so much to keep Maria safe, and now she threw it all away to be with that man?

Jayla gave a sigh and looked away as she thought some more, her sacrfices in childhood didn't keep Maria safe. Her running away just made it easier to place Maria. She married a man who was supposed to be good and suffered for it. This man, he wasn't a good man. Maybe that's what Maria needed though? A man who didn't lie and hide behind the title of good. Edward was a bad guy, yes, but he did love and look after Maria. Amber told her of the stories, even showed her the video clips.

Jayla gave a smile when Maria turned that smiling face towards her. Oh her heart was breaking, her little sister didn't need her. She had protectors now.

"Jayla, did you sleep at all?" Maria, no it wasn't Maria anymore, she was Audrina and Jayla just had to get used to it. Audrina stepped out of the man's embrace and slowly reached her hand towards Jayla. She shook her head and looked down to her sister. "Well, I've got to go to work. Please get some rest. If you would like I can leave some cash for any food you would like to get. I'm afraid I can't remember if you cooked very well at all."

Jayla gave a laugh as she saw Audrina's shy smile and sparkiling eyes. "They don't exist. I don't even remember if I know how to cook."

Audrina's laugh felt more refreshing than the bath had been. "I'll make something tonight after work. Edward's going to be here for a little bit before he goes back to his place." Jayla held onto Audrina's hand as she stepped closer and spoke quietly. "Will you be alright with that? If it bothers you at all I can tell him to leave?" Mismatched eyes met up with Sard ones, both searching for any worry or anticipation.

"I will be fine. I'm going to your room and sleeping." Audrina gave a sharp nod before backing away and speaking lowly to Edward and leaving out the front door. She watched his body language, searching for the evil she knew was there. He must have done something to pull her sweet sister towards him. The door clicked shut and he stood there for a moment before his shoulders seemed to sink. Before she could blink he was turning towards her with a fake smile on his face.

"Jayla dear. How would you felt if Audrina moved to a larger place than this apartment?"

She wondered what his game was. "Seems excessive enough."

He gave a small frown and started to pace slowly back and forth. "I emailed my real estate agent and the Bed and Breakfast Audrina and I were looking at is still up for sale." He glanced over and saw her cross her arms at him. "Ah, you remember Audrina's powers do you not?"

"She can heal with a touch. What ya think you're gonna make a hospital or something there?" She felt confused when he nodded and snapped his fingers at her.

"Or something is right. Audrina loves to help people, people on both sides of the law. She needs somewhere safe. Somewhere secure. I can provide that. I just know she would titter and worry back and forth though." He paused and scratched his chin while looking at the ceiling. Jayla fought the urge to look up as well. "I could just buy it for her and surprise her with it. Do you think she'd like that?"

"Maria would light up for getting even the smallest things. She'd probably be speechless if you bought her somewhere to live." Jayla found herself starting to smile and quickly shook her head before Edward looked to her. "She'd probably try to reject it though."

"True Jayla. That is true, but it is secure. It is a place that she and I can both live in." He nodded to himself and turned away from her, waving his arms and he painted a picture in his mind's eye. "It's large, easily hold the four of us with guest rooms for anyone who needs someplace safe. Audrina loves the idea of giving people a haven to hide away in. She can help others, I can use the basement for my own devices- there's even a fenced in garden in the back. Ivy could set up some security for Audrina."

Jayla yawned and rubbed her eye. "I suppose. If Ma- Audrina loves you she'll go along with it. I'm not sure about movin in with y'all, but if she asks about it I'll follow her."

He turned back towards her and started to walk over. He stopped when she stiffened up and started to lean back. "Jayla. Go to Audrina's room and sleep. I'll leave and discuss things over with my realtor. Perhaps she'll still keep this place for her sisters to live in." Edward turned away from her and walked out the front door. She found herself sighing and covering her face with her hands after he left. She stood up slowly and dragged herself to Audrina's room. With another sigh she crawled into the bed and turning to face the window, finally let herself cry as she fell asleep.


	22. The Haven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A couple months later, life has started to settle down at the newly opened Safe Haven.

Superman flew up to a nondescript house bearing a lit sign simply stating "Safe Haven". He shifted Supergirl to just one arm and tapped his comm with his free hand. "I'm at the address, are you sure this is-? I'm not saying I don't trust you, but are you sure this is better than Star Labs?" He nodded and floated down to the front door. He rang the doorbell and was surprised to see a woman in her late 20s with long purple hair and wearing a robe open the door right away.

"Batman called me. Come in!" She motioned for Superman to follow her and he looked around the house as he was led upstairs and into a bedroom. "Place her down on the bed and don't worry about the blood and the sheets, it's fine." He just gave a nod and watched the woman sit down in a chair next to the bed and place one hand on Supergirls forehead while the other rested just above her heart. Her hands started to glow purple and he watched as Supergirls breathing eased and her face started to regain color. The blast wounds even healed up in front of his eyes, not even leaving a scar. The woman slowly lifted her hands up and the glow faded. "You're injured too. Let me heal you so you can get back to the fight."

"I'd rather stay here ma'am." Superman crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring the twinges of pain and guilt.

"If you're sure. Let me contact Batman to see if he doesn't need your help." She started to stand up but Superman put a hand out and tapped his comm.

"Batman, Supergirl's healed up and resting but do you mind if I keep a guard over her?" He frowned. "I'm aware it's called Safe Haven and there's signs stating a no fighting policy but she's defenceless and the healer doesn't look very strong." He paused and nodded once in understanding. "The whole street? Alright, but once the battles over I'm coming back." He raised his eyes from where they'd been resting on Supergirl and looked Audrina in the eyes. "I'm sorry for doubting you ma'am. I was sent here-"

She raised her hand at him this time. "In a hurry, most are their first time. You may open the window and fly back to the battle that way, but you must return through the front door." She walked up to him and placed both hands on his arms and he could feel his energy returning as she glowed and smiled up at him. "My names Audrina and remember that this place is a safe haven and neutral territory. Everyone must respect the neutrality or they will never recieve healing here again." She walked over to a window and opened it. "Now go. You can bring everyone back for healing after the battle. I'll even have some food prepared for your speedster." She shoo'd him out with a smile and he even gave one back as he flew back to the battle.

She gave a nod to herself and shut the window before turning back to her newest patient. "You can come in Edward. I may need a hand getting her under the covers." The door opened and he strolled right into the room, looking completely comfortable in just a pair of drawstring pants. They both walked over to the young kryptonian and Edward gently lifted her while Audrina pulled down the sheets, then she was placed under the blanket and the quilt was changed for a clean one. "She should rest for about another hour, but I'm never sure with aliens. Superman seemed almost energized with the little healing I gave him."

"Audrina dear, do you want to wait with her while I prepare for our guests downstairs or do you think she could be left alone?" He gave a smirk as if he already knew the answer.

She shook her head and looked back to the teen. "The Justice League all seem to be quite violent. I think the house would be safer if she were to have company when she wakes up." He gave a nod and kissed her before walking back out of the room. With a sigh and running her fingers through her purple locks Audrina sat back down next to Supergirl, thankful for the comfortable chairs Edward had insisted be in every room. She did wish for a moment that her sisters had decided to live with them, she hated to admit it but the waiting for the person to wake up was almost the worst part. After a few minutes she got back up and walked over to the short bookcase across the room, she picked out a collection of short stories and sat back down, deciding to read while waiting for the superheroine to wake up. It was better than pulling herself into her thoughts.

After about a half hour of her reading, the young woman in the bed groaned and sat up. "Where am I?" She raised a hand to her head and gasped. "Superman! The fight!"

"Is still going on, but you were gravely injured." Audrina responded from her seat. "You're at the Safe Haven. I provide healing to anyone who crosses my doorstep. Batman had you sent here for the easiest, least invasive way to heal you." She calmly closed her book and walked over to the bookcase. "Now, would you like to rest or would you like to help me prepare some food for when your friends come by?"

Supergirl sprang out of the bed, "I'll help!" She floated over towards Audrina as they left the room, "So is this like a hospital or something?"

Audrina gave her a soft smile and headed down the stairs. "Or something. It's a place where everyone can be healed as long as they follow the rules."

"And what are the rules?" Supergirl let her feet touch the floor and they continued walking.

"No fighting at all. The Safe Haven is a sanctuary. I've healed cops, drug addicts, rouges, heros. It does not matter who you are, I will heal you."

Supergirl looked confused. "So- you help the bad guys too? Why?"

Audrina gave a smile and opened the door to the kitchen where Edward, now with a shirt on as well, was chopping some vegetables and sliding them into a pot. "Because they're still human. Well, they're still people." She walked over to a cupboard and pulled out some potatoes and began to peel them. "I have the power to heal. I started off using my power just to help my friends, but Batman was seriously injured once and I had to heal him." She paused and looked at Supergirl. "I have brought people back from the brink of death and will continue to do so as long as I can." She gave a warm smile, "Now could you be a dear and start on those meatballs? I'm making food for the League members coming back here."

"But why would you do that?" Supergirl picked up a handful of meat and started to compact it anyways, remembering days in the kitchen with Ma and Pa Kent.

"What good is it to fix a car if you don't put gas in it?" Supergirl felt herself blush as the answer seemed obvious in retrospect. She bit back a frown when she heard the man scoff.

"Huh. I guess that makes sense. How can you afford all this though? Do people pay to be healed?"

Audrina gave a laugh and shook her head. "No, but some are generous enough to donate after I heal them, especially when I make house calls." She gave a chuckle to herself while looking at Edward. "You would not believe how often I have to make house calls to the Batcave."

Edward laughed. "You mean when the kid tripped going down the stairs, broke his ankle and then tried to train on it?"

"That's not funny." Supergirl replied with a frown while rolling the meatballs.

Audrina covered her mouth while still laughing. "It's only funny because he was so stubborn about it and refused to have it seen, insisting it was fine. Batman had to tie him up just so I could touch him to start healing him."

Supergirl gave a laugh, "Okay, that is funny." The three of them worked in the kitchen, finishing quickly and Audrina shooed Edward and Supergirl to the living room while she reorganized the dishes to clean. She gave a sigh and walked in the livingroom to join them with a cup of tea.

"Audrina dear are you alright?" Edward walked over to her and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. She smiled and looked up at him.

"I'm fine darling, just a bit tired. There's been an upswing of violence lately. You know just how busy we've been. Especially you too with your side projects."

"My robots or the riddles?"

She gave a laugh and then yawned. "Your robots in the basement love. I know about your lovely children." She took a drink and made a face. "Must have overstepped the tea."

He looked at her with a small frown. "I've never seen you do that before."

She gave a shrug and continued to drink the tea, "Well love there's a first time for everything. Now if you don't mind Supergirl, I'm going to go dress in some proper non nighttime clothes. Edward I would suggest the same but I feel you'd dress in full Riddler regailia just to push a few buttons." She placed her tea cup down and walked down a hallway into another room.

Supergirl turned towards him with a wide open mouth. "You're the Riddler?"

"Yes little Kryptonian I am." He stretched in his chair and tossed both legs over an arm.

"But you're a bad guy." Her brows furrowed as she looked around. "I don't get it. You're a bad guy, you're here though. You kill people, but you didn't hurt me."

"I am a puzzle aren't I?" He smirked and looked at the ceiling, ignoring her stare.

"I'm confused."

"Do you remember that new Justice League recruit? Shadow Gal or whatever she's being called these days?"

"You mean the one who used to be Shadow Thief? How do you know her?"

"She's Audrina's sister." He turned and saw the confusion on Supergirl's face. "The woman who healed you is named Audrina. I am Edward, and Shadow is Jayla." He gave a small laugh. "You know what? I'm just going to call her Shadow. I can never remember what she tries to think of for names."

Supergirl smiled and looked down at her hands, it seemed almost odd to not have the gloves on, but they had ripped in the fight and she took them off while helping Audrina cook. "She suggested the name Cheshire Cat, but there's already a villain named Cheshire. Apparently she went and read the Alice in Wonderland books after someone compared her to Alice. She loved the idea of being the Cheshire Cat."

Her head whipped up and he scrambled to get back into a proper sitting position. "She read the books? After my comment? Marvelous!" She scoffed a bit as he clapped. She heard someone walking down the stairs and ignored it knowing there were only three heartbeats in the building. Edward laughed a bit and wiped an eye with one of his hands. "Oh for all the woman tried to act as if she hated me, she likes me."

"I think she's still on tolerate dear." The healer, Audrina stepped into the living room. Supergirl sat up straighter as the woman walked up to her. "Supergirl, are you feeling alright?"

"Honestly Ma'am I'd feel better if I were out there helping everyone in the fight." She wanted to kick herself, she was sounding like Clark!

Audrina shook her head and shared a smile with Edward. "I wouldn't. You were already injured enough to panic Superman once. I'd hate to see it happen again." Supergirl slouched in her seat and gave a sigh and nod. "Thank you. Now I don't know how long they'll take. Which is why we've got the food all simmering. So why don't you tell us about yourself or the battle?"

Supergirl glanced over at Edward and tried to hide a grimace. "I'd rather not talk about the league, or the battle. Myself kinda tags in with the league."

"Well what about that 'Day Without Crime' you and Oracle set up? That doesn't have to do with the League." Audrina gave a soft smile as she sat down on the arm of Edward's chair.

"Wait you know about that? Don't tell her dad! I mean- shoot!" Supergirl gave a sigh as the two laughed. "You know who she is don't you?"

"I do. She and I are well aquainted, and not being strong enough to heal her is one of my biggest regrets to this day." Supergirl didn't miss how Edward, the Riddler for crying out loud, placed an arm around Audrina and rubbed her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"It was a joint project actually. She wanted to restore hope for a day, and I got roped into it. Well, I thought it would be fun. It was exhausting though!"

"I can imagine." Audrina gave a short laugh. They all paused when someone started to pound on the door. "That was sooner than I expected." 


	23. Meeting the League

Supergirl closed her eyes and listened around her. There were only two heartbeats outside the door, one very fast and the other slow, much to slow. She took a deep breath, there was blood- a lot of blood and the person pounding on the door had their hands slick with it. "Audrina! Open up! It's ya sister! She's hurt!" Older man, southern accent. There was a chemical smell under it all. Her eyes popped open in fear when the pieces clicked together.

"Amber?" Audrina shot up and was running to the door. Supergirl found herself frozen as she watched the woman yank open the door. "My- oh Amber. What happ-" the words trailed off as the three of them came inside. Audrina didn't wait for anything, she just placed her hands on the arm hanging down and Supergirl watched as the three of them glowed. She could hear the heartbeats becoming a normal rhythm and she watched the knife wound close up. It was as if the healing process just sped up. "Jonathan. What happened? Who hurt my sister?"

"They're dead now. It doesn't matter." The tall man adjusted the young woman into a bridal style carry as she looked at the floor.

"It matters to me Jon." It seemed odd how his heart skipped a beat and sped up when Audrina placed a hand on his arm. "Someone tried to kill my sister and hurt you."

"They won't hurt her ever again. I made sure of that." He stepped back, breaking the contact between them and walked up the stairs. "I'm going to clean her up and place her in her bed." Supergirl turned towards Edward and was confused about how the man watched the other like a hawk. "Nice to meet cha Supergirl." He gave a nod in her direction and headed up the stairs.

Audrina's sigh drew her away from listening to the man walk around. "Oh dear. I wonder what it was this time."

"My dear Audrina, you know your sister. She probably tried something beyond her abilities and couldn't back up her mouth. Jonathan's already taken care of things, so you don't need to worry. She's alive, she's safe here. She'll be back to terrorizing the college Monday morning and you know it." The two shared a small grin while Kara felt out of place.

"I suppose that is true dear." Audrina looked down at her hands, Supergirl wondered how she missed it, but they were covered in blood. "I'll wash my hands and then clean the door while we wait for the League."

"I can get that clean. You wash up and rest. I know you'll just have more healing to do when the League arrives. No need to hospitalize yourself dear." She gave an absent minded nod as she turned towards the kitchen. Edward stood up and motioned for Supergirl to follow him, she did so, wondering why. He said nothing as he went to the side of the stairs and pulled out a spray bottle and paper towels. "I'm sure from the expression on your face you figured out who that was, didn't you?"

Her breath caught in her throat, she knew but somehow she was scared of saying it. His words were quiet, probably not able to be heard outside of super hearing. "That- that was Scarecrow, wasn't it?" She gave a shudder and wrapped her arms around herself. "I can smell the fear toxin on him."

"That is our dear Scarecrow. Audrina, as you noticed will call him Jonathan. It used to be just Doctor Crane, but they have gotten more familiar." Supergirl kept her mouth shut about Scarecrows reaction to Audrina. "He's with her sister, so it does make sense Audrina would use more familiar terms with him. Her sister was the unconscious woman."

"I thought Jayla was her sister? That girl looked more like me."

"Well, more like Harley Quinn. I doubt you've seen Harley Quinn without any makeup though. Amber, that's Audrina's sister is her adoptive sister. Jayla is Audrina's foster sister. None of them are blood relatives."

"That would explain why none of them look alike. I thought I just had more to learn about human biology." Supergirl followed him out the front door and watched him spray the door with the liquid. Part of her felt queasy, there were large splatters from Scarecrow pounding on the door. "That's-" she took a breath to settle herself, "much more blood than I expected to see."

"It's part of the territory. I'm going to spray the sidewalk a bit as well. I imagine later Audrina's going to take the pressure washer to it again and the spray makes it easier."

"Okay?" She didn't question it, just floated behind him and watched him. She wondered how old he even was, he looked tired. It was pretty late at night, but it seemed to be a bone tired. She wondered if this was how Ma and Pa Kent looked when her and Clark weren't around. They walked back inside in silence, he put the chemical away and they settled back in the living room with Audrina.

Supergirl didn't know what to do, she'd never really just sat and waited for someone as herself before. It was odd and she had to remind herself not to squirm in her seat as Edward, The Riddler her mind reminded her sat and read and Audrina drew something in a notebook. There was a sharp rap on the door and Audrina placed down the notebook as she walked up to the door again. Supergirl found herself tilting her head for a better angle without looking like she was peaking, but she found herself blushing when Edward just reached over and picked up the book, holding it up for a clear view. "Audrina's a woman of many talents. She enjoys making clothing and costumes, I believe your costume gave her some ideas for an outfit. Possibly for Harley or her sister." She nodded and sat back in her chair, listening to the low voice of Batman speaking with Audrina.

She sat up quickly in her chair. "Batman? Then Clark's here!" She took off to the door and skidded to a mid-air stop as she saw the crowd in the doorway. She wanted to smile and speak but her voice caught in her throat when she saw who Batman was holding up with Clark's help. Green Arrow, the voice of sarcastic reason was unconscious while the they tried to all go through the door and Audrina kept one hand on his chest. She didn't need to be a healer to see the hole in his stomach. Something had tried to tear him apart. Her hands covered her mouth as she tried to keep her tears back. Clark and Batman helped lay Ollie down on a bench and Audrina knelt down next to him. Supergirl watched as Batman pushed back some of Ollie's organs and the wounds sealed shut. The rest of the group started to notice Supergirl floating there in shock. Batman stood up and whispered to Clark.

Clark stood up and the two of them walked past her to the kitchen, Wonder Woman walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder as she could hear water running. "Supergirl, do not fear. If Batman trusts this woman I do as well. Look at how well she healed you."

"But Ollie's only human. He's so frail." She couldn't help the tears from falling, this was someone she almost viewed as a friend and he could be dying. She tried to think of the last conversation they had, but all she could think of was them sniping at each other over the comms.

"Green Arrow will be fine with some rest. He was unconscious, while he is healed I cannot wake up his body. That will be all on him. There's food in the kitchen for all of you." Audrina was walking up to them, Flash zipped by her side when she started to stumble. "Thank you. Healing does take some energy out, so it is best if you all try to eat something to help your bodies along before I start healing all of you."

"Audrina, are you sure that's safe?" Supergirl found herself wondering when Batman arrived back in the hallway, but Audrina just gave him a smile and motioned for the rest of them to go to the kitchen. Flash oddly enough was keeping the slow pace with her instead of zipping over to the food. "Thank you for the hospitality."

"You can thank me by helping Batman keep the piece if they see Edward." Flash looked ready to say something but thought better of it as he shook his head and smiled. The group rejoined in the kitchen where Audrina sat down on a stool and motioned for Flash to leave. Supergirl gave a small smile as the speedster inhaled several plates in a row. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl shaking their heads at him while Wonder Woman just looked amused. "He must be starving. Poor soul."

Supergirl walked over to Audrina, a quick glance let her know Superman was listening as well. "What do you mean?"

"Oh! Flash, with how much he's eating I'm sure that battle exhausted him. He has an increased metabolism does he not? I'm sure a normal human would be tired after hours of running around but Flash-" She paused as if thinking, "I doubt he can call a break for a snack or anything."

"I never thought of it that way." From the expression she could see on Superman's face, he probably didn't think about that either. Audrina smiled and motioned for Green Lantern to come towards her, with a sheepish smile he removed the cast he placed with his power ring and Wonder Woman watched him be healed in awe. She wondered how much they took for granted about their coworkers. Her head turned to the side when she heard Ollie speak.

"What did I do to deserve you here?" She didn't quite catch The Riddler's response, but she did hear his laugh. She smiled as she heard the two of them talking briefly. "Can you get those girls of yours out of my city then? They might as well be named Mischief and Mayhem!" There was a louder laugh this time, loud enough that Superman could hear it across the room and started to walk across. Batman muttered something to him and he sighed, heading back to his spot.

Green Arrow walked into the kitchen and looked around. "Did the party start without me or something? Last thing I remember was being thrown into a building." Green Lantern was moving his arm around and looking surprised at his newly healed arm while Batman walked over to Audrina now.

Hawkgirl laughed and shook her head at him. "Thrown into a building? It was a little more than that! You would have died if not for the Medic that Batman knows." The purple glow caught Green Arrow's attention and he took a step to the side as his watched her.

"Wait. Purple hair, Riddler is here, and you heal? Oh shit you're Audrina aren't you?" She gave a small smile as they ignored the mixed reaction to a villain being there.

"That I am. How do you know me?" Batman gave her a small nod and left the kitchen, Supergirl could hear Riddler replying to him in the living room and glancing over at Superman knew he was listening in to both conversations now.

"Echo and Query try to make things difficult for me back in Star City." It was pleasant, the way she lit up when she giggled and shook her head. "I mean, they're interesting people and apparently they tell you hilarious stories when they kidnap you so you're not just sitting there bored outta your mind, but seriously. Get them out of my city."

"I'm afraid that I cannot help you with. Nina and Diedre are their own women." Her expression changed for a moment before smiling again. "I could always ask them to visit. They haven't seen the Safe Haven yet."

Supergirl tuned out the conversation as she floated over to Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl. "It's good to see you're alright! That was a lucky shot that got you there." Hawkgirl gave a punch on the shoulder while Wonder Woman looked her over.

"Yeah. It's been an odd night. I can say that."

"I've never heard of this woman before, have you?" Wonder Woman spoke up as she eyed Audrina.

"No, but she knows Batgirl and Batman. Batgirl and I are friends, so that trust is enough for me." Wonder Woman nodded at the response and looked back over at Audrina walking up to them.

"I believe you two are the only ones left. Are you in need of any healing?" Wonder Woman shook her head and Hawkgirl shrugged.

"Clipped a building with my wing, bruised but everything should be fine within a day or two."

"Alright. My door is always open if you would like some help though." Audrina gave another smile, to Supergirl it seemed almost sad, and left the kitchen to go to the living room. It wasn't until about an hour later Supergirl left the team and went back to the living room, Clark had come in after Batman it seemed. The two of them sat on a pair of armchairs while Riddler had moved to a couch with a sleeping Audrina leaning against him. He gave her a smirk and pointed to the available spot next to Audrina. Clark frowned at her sharing the couch with Riddler. For some reason it made her want to laugh. 


	24. Final Days

The next night Batman came back to the Safe Haven, Jayla was the one who met him at the door. "She could have died you know." He gave a small frown, wondering which 'She' Jayla ment. "Maria throws herself too much into helping. First Supergirl, then Amber, then the main League. That's more than she does in a couple days."

"What happened to Audrina's sister?" They walked into the kitchen and he started to make hot cocoa as Jayla sat down. She tucked her head down and glanced over to the doorway.

"I don't know all the details. The only ones who know ain't talkin and I won't get gassed for askin'. Ya know?" He nodded and she shrugged. "What I do know though? Scarecrow killed whoever hurt her. There was a lot of blood. Not all hers. If it were-" Jayla took the cup from him and blew on the drink before sipping. "She'd be dead. Ya find a dead body from that day? Then ya probably got whoever hurt her." Batman looked at Jayla and finally spoke up.

"Do you feel safe being here Shadow?" He ignored the glare she gave him and instead drank his own coffee.

"She is my sister! I will do whatever needed to help her. If that means staying here when she's weak then I will be surrounded by criminals Batman." She slammed her mug on the counter and leaned towards him. "I would die for her." She gave a sigh and sat back down. "It's safe. She's happy and as little as I trust Riddler, he loves her. He's head over heels for her and I think it scares him."

"Why would you say that?"

Jayla shrugged and looked to the doorway again. "Audrina's healing power. You can see how it takes its price."

"She's weakened by it. I thought she was growing stronger?" His eyes followed hers and they both looked to the stairs, thinking of the young woman resting above them.

"She could be. I think it's like a new hair tie. She's got a limit and doesn't know it. Sure she can stretch, but if you try too much too fast? Snap." Jayla seemed to curl up on herself and Batman reached over to place a hand on her shoulder. "I don't want to watch my sister die." The words were so quiet, as if she were afraid to speak them.

"I'll start working on a compound to help her. There has to be something." He finished his drink and sat the cup down in the sink. "Thank you for your answers Jayla."

"I didn't tell you nothing Batman. Maria comes first." He gave her a nod and stepped outside. She sighed and laid her head down on the counter. "I put Maria first and she puts everyone first." Her head snapped up when the Riddler walked down the stairs. She wondered how he always hit the step that creaked but Maria never did. "Hello Riddler." She could tolerate the man, but never like him.

"Audrina's finally woken up Jay." He gave a sigh and rubbed his eyes under his glasses, she looked away from him so she wouldn't see how tired he was from the scare of Audrina's fainting spell. "She's finally awake. I'm going to make food right now. If you could keep an eye on her? Nina and Diedre should be back in town tomorrow morning. They had to settle some affairs before leaving."

Jayla nodded and left the room in the shadow, she didn't know how to act around that man. He loved Maria, she could see that easily. Anyone around the two of them could see the love, but he had left her there after she begged him and Batman for help. He didn't know any better though, and she felt she could forgive him if Maria asked it of her, but they all knew she needed someone to direct that anger at. She stepped out of the shadows into Audrina's room, glancing over to see Amber lying on the bed next to her- no, their sister. Audrina looked up from where she had been running her fingers through Amber's hair and smiled up at Jayla. Her heart felt like it had jumped to her throat, she looked pale for her normal skin tone. "Hey."

"It's good to see you Jayla." Maria gave that beautiful smile, Jayla walked over to her and sat down on the other side of the bed. She placed her arm around her sister and smiled when Maria leaned against her. "I miss you when you're gone. Thank you for coming over." Those dark eyes looked up at her and she felt 15 again, wondering if she should run away and make things easier for her little sister. She had spent a year then deciding and it cost her so much. She couldn't do the same now.

"I was worried about you Ma-Audrina. You healed too many people."

"I've healed more in one go before though. I don't understand why it was worse this time?" She turned to look at Amber and traced a small pattern on the girls cheek.

"Did you bring two people back from the edge of death in one night before? Three if you count Amber?"

"Well, I don't think so. One from dying and a widespread injury." She moved her hand onto Ambers back the fingers splayed out as she looked at something Jayla did not see. "I have to help people though Jayla. It's what I was gifted with, so it's what I must do." She looked back up at her sister and smiled. "I enjoy helping people. It's within my ability, so why shouldn't I?"

Jayla hugged her close and blinked back the tears in her eyes. "I'm afraid of you giving up everything for someone Maria. I don't want you to die, you know that, right?" She missed the slight wince her sister gave through the tears.

"It's Audrina now, remember? Maria has been gone for a long time Jayla." She patted the older womans back as they clung to each other. 

* * *

  
The next month Audrina was sitting in front of a tv with Amber, Jon, and Edward watching the news. Jon was reading his book and ignoring everything while Edward, Audrina, and Amber were all glued to the report. Edward kept glancing over to Audrina as they watched the reporter discuss the invasion and how the League was fighting against them. He could see her pained expression as she watched Wonder Woman get knocked down and climb back up out of the hole she had created before flying up and punching the alien.

She leapt to her feet when Superman received the same treatment and was slower to respond then Wonder Woman. "Audrina, what are you doing?" Edward climbed to his feet as she stormed out of the room.

"Stopping this. Somehow." She briskly walked over to the console before typing in a street address and being transported in a beam of light.

"Fuck. Jon! We're going to need back up!" Edward shouted as he turned and sprinted back to the living room.

* * *

  
With a shout of "No!" Audrina threw herself forward and ran towards the center of the battle. The two aliens looked towards her, Superman trying to speak as the other was crushing his throat. She collected her energy and threw her arm out towards him, gasping as the purple energy flew out in a haze to connect with Superman healing his wounds and giving him energy. He reached his hands up and broke the other aliens grasp, punching him and continuing the fight.

Seeing he was healed she turned towards where Wonder Woman was flying and fighting and sent out energy to her. The cuts on her healed instantly and the arm that had been hanging limp was as good as ever, ready to throw a hook into the aliens face. Audrina continued in the same fashion, throwing her energy to the Justice League members she could see. One of the invading aliens noticed what she was doing and ran towards her, his yellow catlike eyes narrowing as he raised his sword. Audrina could only scream and throw herself to the side before she felt herself being grabbed and was on the other side of the street.

Flash was holding her and gently placed her feet back on the ground. "Next time, try not to shout and call attention to yourself like that." She gave a silent nod and kept a hand on his bicep, smiling up at him as it glowed purple and his energy was renewed. "Thank you Audrina. Now stay safe."

Audrina nodded and looked back at the battle, there was so much chaos and bloodshed. It seemed even with Superman healed and back in the battle the tide was still against them. She looked around and saw one of the League members lying on the ground, another kneeling above them and fending off the invaders with a sword. She ran towards them, a purple bubble starting to form around her. When she got to them, it encased all three of them and the knight had a moment to rest as the cat-like alien fought against the shield.

He turned towards her and bowed with one hand over his chest. "I thank you fair maiden. Though may I ask why you are in the battlefield?"

She gave him a soft smile as her glowing hands touched the cowboy on the ground. She looked down at him, he'd been clawed across the chest and she could see his broken bones mending and covering his organs once again. The muscle, tissues, and even skin knitted together before her eyes. "Your friend is in need of help. As a healer, I help wherever I can." The cowboy sat up and touched the ripped hole in his shirt to feel the wound completely gone.

"Thank you ma'am." She granted him a soft smile as well as she placed a hand on the knight and he briefly glowed purple. "What did you just do?"

"Just gave him a recharge and healed that sprained ankle." She looked back at the knight. "You can stand easier now and continue the battle. I must find the next person in need of my help." She looked up and finally noticed the shield. "Well, I do hope this is mobile." She stood up and the shield moved with her.

Audrina walked through the battlefield, interrupting fights and healing or reenergizing them, heros and she could even see villains alike as they fought the tall imposing invaders. Her purple hair swirled around her with power. She walked up to Supergirl and waved her hand towards her, giving her the edge over her opponent. Audrina walked right up to where Superman was fighting the leader and stood between them, her purple shield blocking them both. Unknown to her, several news crews were on the edge of the battlefield and still recording, one of them zoomed in to the three of them; capturing the breathtaking sight of the small glowing woman standing between two men who could easily crush her.

"You will stop this fight." Audrina spoke to the leader, he stood tall, his tail swishing around him and his claws bared at her. "If you do not leave, I will show you my power."

"You are merely a healer." He hissed at her, swiping her shield and finding his claws stuck. He tried to yank back but he was held in place by her shield.

Superman stepped closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, the shield letting him pass through. "What are you doing? This isn't safe for you."

She just closed her eyes and when they opened, they had the same purple glow as her powers. Her voice echoed as she spoke. "This is safe for no one. They have not stopped and I will make them stop." She raised her arms and lifted her head with them, the purple rays expanding past her, lifting her a few feet in the air and they could hear the screams of pain from the invaders, but not one league member felt pain. Her body shook from the power and she seemed ready to break but refused to. Her nose started to bleed and tears of blood flowed from her eyes when she closed them.

The leader fell to his knees as he clutched his head. "Stop!" He yowled. She gasped as the energy quickly went back inside her. She stumbled a moment as she landed back on her feet, but Superman held her up. "We surrender."

"Go home then, and never return." Superman spoke, his voice carrying across to everyone as he lifted Audrina up.

"Take me to Edward, please." She whispered before passing out. Superman noticed she had been bleeding from her nose and eyes. He frowned in worry.

Superman flew above the crowd and looked around, his supervision caught sight on a tall man in green being held back by a slightly shorter man dressed as a scarecrow covered in blood. He shifted Audrina to one arm and tapped his comm, "Batman, Audrina asked me to take her to Edward before she passed out. Is that The Riddler?"

"Yes. He's with Scarecrow right now. Be on your guard around them."

He gave a nod and flew over to the two of them. They stopped struggling when they saw him flying towards them with Audrina in his arms. Scarecrow lifted the scythe he'd been using as a bar to hold back Riddler. The Riddler rushed over before he even landed. "Give her to me!" He shouted as he pulled her towards him. He clutched her to his chest and ran his fingers through her purple locks. "Audrina, my dear Audrina, why do you try so hard to help others?" He took a cloth from his pocket and started to wipe the blood from her face. "This will kill you one day my dear." He looked panicked as she kept bleeding.

"Great Hera! Is this the woman who helped us all?" Wonder Woman landed next to Superman and walked towards the trio. "She is a wonderful healer and a warrior as well!" She leaned forward to gain a closer look. "This is the same healer who saved Green Arrow. I do not remember her being so strong."

Scarecrow stepped in front of the two lovers and raised his scythe up. "Stay back unless you want to know your greatest fear." He spoke in a low voice with a laughing tone underneath. "Audrina is ours, we will take care of her." Looking over the two heros he turned towards Edward clutching Audrina as if his life depended on it. "She needs rest. This isn't the first time she's overused her powers."

"She hurt every enemy in that battle! She healed all of us with just waves of her hands. Do you not know how much good she can do with such powers? She's at the level of either Superman or myself! She's the embodiment of Panacea!" Wonder Woman looked between Superman and Scarecrow in wonder. Batman walked up to the group.

"She's a neutral party Diana, don't forget that." He walked over to the group, Scarecrow watching him as he walked past. "I developed a serum to help her. She's let me study her powers before and this will help her restore her energy faster." Edward relaxed his hold on her a bit and let Batman inject her. Her eyelids fluttered and she looked at Edward before resting her head back on his chest. He resumed cleaning the blood off her face and breathed a sigh of relief as the bleeding stopped. Batman turned and walked back towards Superman and Wonder Woman. "No side can claim her, you two surely remember her safe haven? She had that whole street claimed as neutral territory because she helps everyone. She's saved my life a few times, she's helped the police, she's even helped the rouges who come to her."

"Are those rude aliens gone?" Audrina asked up towards Edward. Scarecrow, sensing Batman would keep peace on their side walked towards Audrina and removed his gloves to brush a lock of hair out of her face.

"They all left. You showed the whole world just how strong a healer can be." He placed a hand on Riddlers shoulder and the two of them looked at the three league members, tensing when two others ran up to them.

"Ah! There is the fair maiden who helped us. She is safe with her own knights." The man dressed as a medieval knight crossed one arm over his chest and bowed when he reached line with the league trio.

The cowboy running behind him stepped closer. "I really need to thank the lil lady. She saved my life." The knight looked ready to speak but the cowboy raised a hand to silence him. "I tried to hold on, but that cut was deep and broke bone, I could feel myself dying before she healed me. There was a white light and then there was purple and I see that beautiful lil lady smiling down at me. She's like an angel sent to help everyone, and she made sure my time was not up."

Audrina lifted her head and tapped Edward to let her down. He gently put her on her feet and while she did sway a bit, she took several steps to reach the cowboy. "I'm no angel, I'm just a meta human who was blessed with the ability to heal." She gave a smile at him and continued, "Your time is up only when you decide it is. I have a safe haven where I heal everybody. It's in Gotham, but if you have Flash or one of your flyers around, I can make a housecall." She turned to walk back when she stumbled and Scarecrow caught her.

None of the league members could miss his body language, he held her so gently. It was clear as day Scarecrow had found someone else to love. Superman looked between the three, confused as to the relationship between them all. Audrina ran a hand over his face, frowning when she realized he had a wound that was slowly bleeding under the burlap. Her hand glowed and she smiled as he healed in front of her.

"Audrina, it's time for all of us to head home. Harley and Ivy should be joining us shortly. I believe they were on the other side of the battlefield." Scarecrow lifted her in a bridal style carry slinging his scythe over his back.

Superman looked towards Batman, "We had villains helping us in this?"

"Of course, it's their planet too." Batman gave a smirk to Superman. "As I recall, this isn't the first time our enemies have joined us to fight a greater evil. Shadow gave them the heads up, I'm sure."

Harley Quinn came running up with a giant mallet and Ivy strolling along behind her. "Wasn't that awesome? I found out those giant wanna be kitty cats don't like their tails being smashed on." She skidded to a stop when she saw Audrina in Scarecrows arms. "Audrina! Is she alright? She didn't have another flashback or something did she?"

"No child, she merely overexerted herself proving a point to the leader of the aliens. Now that the two of you have joined us, we should be heading out before Nygma decides to rip Audrina away and put her on bedrest."

"She's already going on bedrest when we get home." Riddler ran his fingers through Audrina's hair, smiling at her, then frowning as she passed out again. "She used more power than she ever has before." He pursed his lips and locked eyes with Batman. "I've never seen her use her power like that. She's never had the echo in her voice, the glow in her eyes, or even float. She's also as far as I know never hurt anyone with her powers, and if she really brought someone back from the brink of death, she's going to be weak for at least a day."

"Yeah, that was really odd. It was like she was possessed or something. Our Audrina wouldn't hurt anyone. She'll be rough shoving you out the door, ask Jay to escort someone out, and happily sic one of Ivy's plants on anyone who broke the rules, but never hurt someone with her own hands." Harley walked over to Scarecrow and placed a hand on his shoulder with a smile. "She needs every bit of happiness she can find."

Ivy walked up to the group, raising her head in disdain as she passed the league members standing in front of her group. "Such horrid creatures. They tried to hurt my babies." She gave a look towards Audrina, passed out again and surrounded by her friends. "Come along now, we should all get back to the haven and rest. Though I'm sure a few of us need a drink or two." She glanced back over her shoulder at the five behind her. "Wonder Woman, I like your style." She gave a smirk and slung her arm over Harleys shoulder and Riddler began typing into a pad before holding onto the Scarecrow's other shoulder and they all were beamed up in a bright light.

Superman turned to Batman. "That was the transporter beam from the Watchtower wasn't it."

Batman just sighed and shook his head. "He's showing off, and I'm changing the codes again." His phone beeped and he opened it, there was an unread message, when he clicked it The Riddlers voice played out. "I don't need your codes to use that transporter Batman." He gave a sigh and looked at the cctv camera pointed towards them. He just flipped it off before walking away, Superman sputtering after him.

* * *

  
Audrina laid on the bed, curled up between Jonathan and Edward. They spoke quietly over her, discussing how they could keep her safe. She'd been sleeping for a whole day now, the rouges rotating who watched over her. Some of the superheros even offered to watch over her if needed. Jayla kept a constant presence in the house, transporting between rooms to pass any messages if need be.

It would be another two days before she woke up, Harley sitting next to her reading while Edward slept on the bed. "Hey Audrina, we were all really worried about cha."

"I feel really weak." She croaked out.

"You were unconscious for three days hun." Harley reached out of Audrina's view and handed her a water bottle. "Drink." Audrina chugged down a third of the bottle before stopping to gasp. Harley helped lift her to sitting and placed a pillow between her and the headboard. "I'll get you some soup Ivy made last night. We've all been keeping an eye out on you." Harley placed a hand on her shoulder and gave Audrina a kiss on the forehead. "If Batman didn't give us some extra doses of that serum he made for you-" She paused, biting her lip and her eyes watering. "You could have died."

Audrina looked at her hands and then back up at Harley. "If my death meant all those aliens trying to invade our world left. I'd do it again. A world under submission? All of you would be fighting it, and I could lose any one of you." Tears dropped onto her hands, "I love so many of you and I love Edward so so much. Too much to think of letting him live in a world like that."

"Maybe that's something you can talk over with Ed when he wakes up. He's been working himself to the bone these past days. I think he blames Batman for your involvement. Which yeah, he did ask you for help and you did bring all of us along to help." Harley walked out the door to grab some soup.

* * *

  
Audrina sat in bed, petting the orchid Ivy had given her so long ago. Edward was asleep next to her and she had one hand on his head, glowing. "Little flower, this is between you and me. I just might die soon, Edward has cancer and I can't stop it. All I can seem to do is heal what cells have mutated. Of course he hasn't realized it yet. I keep healing him every time he's asleep, the tumor never gets big enough for him to realize anything's wrong. Then I keep healing Jonathan too." She sighed and rubbed her head as she drew her hand away from his head. "He's exposing himself to too many chemicals. It's harder to heal him with no one else around." She wiped away the tears falling down her face. "I don't want to lose Edward to his cancer, but the only way I can think of to completely stop it would be to take it on myself."

She looked at the sleeping man next to her, he was curled on his side and his hair was a mess around his face. She ran her fingers through his hair, they glowed wanting to heal him every moment she touched him. "Oh Edward. I hope you can recover from my death. I almost wish I could take away your cancer and then erase myself from your memories. You took my miscarriage hard, I can't imagine my death." She gave a sigh and laid down next to him, letting sleep take over her as she clung to his back. Neither of them noticed the faint purple glow covering them both.

Edward woke up the next morning and reached over to run his fingers through Audrina's hair. He froze when she didn't twitch, then placed two fingers on her neck. He felt panicked and grabbed a mirror, holding it under her nose and dropping it when there was no fog. He gave a pained whine and slipped to the floor as he tried to wrap his head around the fact that Audrina was gone. 

They had the funeral a few days later, it was a mix of heroes, villains, and civilians. Jayla watched over them under an umbrella, Jonathan kept Amber steady with one arm wrapped around her waist. Several people, Edward included had given up on the pretense of strength and just knelt in the grass. He had both Deidra and Echo holding onto his shoulders though. He knew that within time, he would heal from her death, and looking around at the group, he wondered if she realized just how much of an impact she had as she worked between the light and the dark of their world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. It's done. I'm sorry it took so long but I just was not happy with ending it and finally decided it was better to give you guys an ending I could be somewhat satisfied with instead of none at all.


End file.
